


Buffy-Champion of Ankhseram

by Redcristal



Series: Sandcastles and Stars [2]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Fairy Tail, Herbie (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Harry Potter - Freeform, Multi, Multiple Crossovers, Star Dress, Stargate, Teams
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-13 21:45:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7987306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redcristal/pseuds/Redcristal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During summer break, while Buffy was staying with her father. She went to explore her father’s attic, because she heard strange sound at night. Finding strange book there should alarm her but instead she opened it and was pulled in to the new world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Journal of the woman that existed, died and then lived her life to the fullest

### Prologue

 **Disclaimer:** Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, Fairy Tail belong to Mashima. I own nothing or earning money from writing this.  
  
**Summary:** During summer break, while she was in LA staying with her father. She went to explore her father's attic, because she heard a thumping at night, where she found a book, which was planted there by god of life and death and was pulled inside by a black and gold vortex.  
  
**Author note:** Time difference, dear readers, doesn't make sense don't try to make sense of it. Just roll with it. – This is about the only thing that I won't try to clarify anywhere.  
  
  
**Journal of the woman that existed, died and then lived her life to the fullest**  
  
  
It is raining today, which is also the main reason why I went trough the boxes that were not unpacked. We, that is, mom and I, managed to salvage some things, after the fire in our home on 1630 Revello Drive burned the house down.  
  
Fire was courtesy of Natsu going over board of getting rid of Nigerian mask powered zombies that were attacking us. Just as house guests of my mother and some students from school were in the middle of the party no less. For some people that was final straw and they admitted, that yes magic and vampires and demons, and fire breathing lizard boys, (yes Natsu I know you are reading this --- **STOP THAT!** )  
  
It was regular _dead man's party_.  
  
Back to the topic, I found this journal of mine, that I haven’t used yet. So it’s like new house for my mom and me, new beginning and me writing in pristine white of this little diary.  
  
It’s like new lease on life. If only … not that I have bad life so far, except that dying wasn’t so great, and there was a time when I was stuck in demon dimension for a while, where humans were treated as slaves … or as the demons themselves called humans, “cows”.  
  
I know I am rambling but I have so much to tell, and no clear idea where to start.  
  
Perhaps at the _beginning_ …  
  
My name is Buffy Anne Summers. I’m currently 20 years old. But on record of California I’m 17 year old, well, 18 on January 19th.  
  
We just moved from our previous address to 1630 Crestview, Sunnydale, because our house on Revello Drive burned down, because of faulty gas pipes, according to official report by fire fighters on the scene.  
  
I wrote in my first diary when I learned to write. It was the gift from my mom, who give me brightly wrapped packet with a huge bow, with the words, _"Buffy, sweetheart, I received mine when I learned to write, so I cannot think of a better gift for you now that you've done the same."_  
  
She also advised that I write down my thoughts, feelings, and events.  
  
I can't say I wasn't happy to receive the little booklet with the tiny lock and key. I still remember that it had Walt Disney's Cinderella in a ball gown painted on the front. That journal is long gone, destroyed in the fire like most of my possessions. The one I'm writing in now has a red and orange bird of paradise in green foliage. It is thicker and bigger as well, and made to withstand most afflictions with magic. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.  
  
After years of gathering dust, I unearthed this diary; I think it was a birthday gift from my dad, Hank – for reaching 15 year of age. It was the last gift I received from him, just a couple of weeks after the arguments between my parents escalated.  
  
They divorced not long after, but that was before I landed the death sentence lottery. Of course, at 15 I didn't see it like that. I saw being the Chosen One as a burden to my social life. In my defence I didn't know much beyond my life as a socialite in LA. I was the darling daughter to my mother and Princess to my father. I was elected both Prom and Fiesta Queen and had been head cheerleader at Hemery High School. My grades weren't bad either and I was popular. It happened one sunny afternoon when I was waiting for my girlfriends minions really.  
  
I was approached by a middle aged man named Merrick. I also remember how I often compared Merrick to Dr. Watson from Sherlock Holmes movies and books, later on when I got to know him better. I mean he already looked the part, on that first meeting.  
  
He introduced himself as Merrick Jamison-Smythe and then he dropped the bomb.  
  
He told me I'd been Chosen with a capital C to fight vampires. I didn't believe a word he said, or rather refused to, but what he was saying so closely resembled dreams I had. Dreams of a barmaid in Italy, serving ale to knights. Dreams of a pretty girl, a princess in a castle during Dark Ages, an Asian girl, and all of them fought vampires. Death - they all found death by fighting vampires. I thought they were a result of reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. But Merrick proved me wrong that night in the local cemetery.  
  
We didn't get along at first, Merrick and I. In fact the first words he ever said to me were _"Do you know how many girls I've trained to be Slayers? Five. They worked harder than you've worked in your entire life and I saw them all ripped apart, Buffy."_  
  
Two of the Slayers Merrick trained was killed by a master vampire that went by the name of Lothos. That bit of morbid information that I accidentally found, and still recall with vivid detail even now, years later. It was, perhaps because Lothos targeted me as well, and it had become personal for Merrick. That he didn’t want to loose any more of his Slayers to the master vampire.  
Back to Merrick, he was raised in Britain from a young age to be a Watcher.  
  
His father, who was a navy officer before he retired due to an injury and joined his wife, who was working for the Watchers' Council, taught him _"a lot of subtleties the Council never bothered with"_ regarding training, legends, and research. Unfortunately he wasn't able pass anything on to me besides training and fond memories of him.  
  
At first, Merrick's attitude towards me was sarcastic, even more so than me, though, which was probably due to being trained by his father and not the Council. Neither Giles nor Wesley had that. Merrick was stern; again something that neither of my later Watchers had. But he grew frustrated by my lack of commitment to the calling. That he had in common with Giles and Wesley.  
I still do even now, years later, when they'd long retired from being field Watchers. It's funny how Wes still stutters and how Giles clucks his tongue and polishes glasses.  
  
And Merrick, he grew somewhat attached to me the longer we worked together, and I came to respect him a great deal almost like a grumpy uncle. Later when I had brought myself to actually read his Watcher's journal, I never told anyone that I had it, and now it is destroyed in the dragon fire anyway. He wrote, _"Buffy, she possesses an inner strength that I had rarely seen in Slayers, even if she doesn't acknowledge it herself."_  
  
Those words touched me, deeply.  
  
He did something for me that no Watcher would have ever done for a Slayer, not even Giles. As a human for another human. This shows me when I look back now that Watchers in general do not look at Slayers and see a person. A girl. A young woman. The Chosen One. Not even a tool… They see a disposable tissue.  
  
While patrolling the streets of LA with Merrick, we dispatched fledgling vampires with ease, but what we could not know was that Lothos had become obsessed with me. Come to think, of it he started a trend of master level vampires that became obsessed with me.  
  
I'm still unsure if I should be flattered by that – the more vain part of me is flattered by that; the other, larger part is creeped out beyond belief, even though two of the obsessed vampires, Lothos and Sam Lawson, are dust in the wind. But Dracula and Angel are still around. Not that Angel is a threat, as he had his soul returned by vengeful tribe of Gypsies. And nowadays he is not even a vampire anymore.  
  
Sam Lawson was vampire that Angel made during Second World War, and trough he was not exactly master vampire he was obsessed and did a lot of damage before being staked, by Drusilla of all people.  
  
Dracula, Angel mentioned that, some of the Bram Stoker book was spot on, and for some reason he seemed to loathe Spike, Drusilla and Darla.  
  
As for Angel, Drusilla, and Spike, well they are good now. They had regained their humanity, and in fact they are like some kind of male slayers. Drusilla, however, had received psychological help when she regained her soul. She is more or less sane now.  
  
To return back to beginning, Lothos, I don't know how, but Merrick found out Lothos' plans for me. Those were not to simply kill me and be done with it, but making me his partner, his female counterpart in his group of vampires.  
  
Merrick was truly concerned for my safety. Being newly called, I was perhaps four months old as a Slayer and I was no match physically or mentally for a Master Vampire like Lothos. In fact it was an achievement to fight Amilyn to a draw, on my fourteenth night as The Slayer, a feat which earned me Lothos' obsession.  
  
Merrick used his gun to distract Lothos while I had run away to a local homeless shelter, where Merrick had some contacts and was Vampire proofed. Just as I had passed the threshold to safety I heard a gunshot. Later I found out from the news on TV that a man, committed suicide by shooting himself and was found in the alley.  
  
It was Merrick whom shot himself to prevent Lothos is siring him, and with that he not only saved my life, but knowingly sacrificed his own. He knew that he won’t survive past this night.  
I had nearly given up slaying after that, but Pike pulled me out of my depression to attend the school dance with him – now that was a classic _'Lady and the Tramp'_ story, Pike and I. That is, if we'd stayed a couple. Now Pike is a good friend, hitched with another good friend of mine – I hadn't seen that couple coming, considering how that witch was obsessed with some other boy, but that again is another story that I'll come back to later.  
  
Considering how Pike and I have started off, it was pretty mind boggling how the head cheerleader and valley girl that I was got together with Oliver Pike.  
  
Anyway just because I was grieving for Merrick and hurting over my parents constantly screaming at each other, that didn't mean that Lothos' obsession, had gone away. Far from it. He, Amilyn, and their minions attacked the dance that was held at the high school. Pike took on the minions and Amilyn, as well as Lothos' right hand man included, and staked his best friend, Benny Jacks, who had turned.  
  
Minions, I recognized most of them as former students, caught fire that started, when I started to fight Lothos himself. I remembered sparks when I accidentally missed Lothos with a flag pole and hit a stereo, perhaps the lose wiring coaxed that fire.  
  
I didn't see how the fire happened, but Pike told me later. I was to intent on my fight with Lothos, right until the fights conclusion, where I staked him with broken of piece of flag pole. Let's just say that alcohol, sparks, and flammable ornaments are not a good combination. Amilyn was staked later in an alley.  
  
After the dance, we went to Las Vegas – we meaning Pike and I with his motorcycle. He taught me how to drive his bike, how to pick a lock, and how to play billiards and poker.  
  
When I returned to LA, Pike suddenly felt that that he was more of a hindrance than an aid to my Slaying career. He said that I spent more time focused on his safety than slaying.  
  
He cited that, when we were in Vagas, fighting vampires on the roof was an eye opener for him and that this was the reason why he tried to jump off the roof. To take himself out of the picture and that he could give me the chance to focus on the fight. I had to retreat soon after since the vampires had reinforcements. So I had to come up with a plan to solve the problem. I got a priest and had him bless the hotel's water tanks before activating the sprinkler system.  
  
After Pikes break up with me, he returned to Vegas and I went home. But then – even now it's difficult to write the words. Mom and dad went through my things and found my diary. The result of that were me being committed to a hospital for delusions about vampires and me being The Chosen One.  
  
I wasn't in that hospital for long, and of course my stay wasn't demon free. One of the doctors there was a demon in disguise. The demon somehow fed on the mental energy of the patients that were committed, slowly driving them crazier by each feeding.  
  
That was the first time I faced and after a long and difficult battle defeated the demon.  
  
Fortunately for me the other doctor, who was human, witnessed the battle, and later declared that I didn’t have any hallucinations or delusions. Citing that I only done some creative writing in first person to try garnering my parent’s attention and get them to stop arguing.  
  
Anyway, after that my mom got me out and we moved to Sunnydale. There I have met Rupert Giles, Sunnydale high librarian and resident Watcher straight from land of tweed, aka Britain.  
  
Giles had some strange way of introducing himself, by dropping a thick old book about Vampires in front of me, instead of my school books. It upset me so much that I reeled on him and said or rather yelled at him: _“It’s my first day! I was afraid I was gonna be behind in all my classes, that I wouldn’t make any friends, that I would have last month’s hair. I didn’t think there’d bee vampires on campus!”_  
  
I cant say I regret those words, of course it wasn’t just run of the mill town, oh no, my mom and I managed to move to demon central and to make matters even more ironic, Sunnydale’s High school library was located directly above mouth of hell. Well, a nexus of energy that was also a weak point where beings - mostly other dimensional demons - could enter Earth.  
  
Later I met Willow Rosenberg, resident computer genius and total nerd, but she was a shy, sweet girl. Now she is not as shy, in fact she is becoming a typical redhead and a witch. I met Cordelia Chase who was like a mirror of me from my pre-slayer gig, but she still helps. Xander Harris, class clown but steadfast friend. In a way they made Slaying fun and it was cathartic to save people from monsters and vampires.  
  
Sunnydale was also place, where I’ve met Angel. The only vampire that had a soul returned to him – at the time, now there are more of vampires with souls roaming Sunnydale.  
  
As much as Angel annoyed me with his mysteries ways, I was also attracted to him – he was the only person that I could see in romantic light that made sense to me in my whacky world.  
  
Or so I've said.  
  
We were slowly drawn together and then a prophecy about my death was discovered. I went down to where an ancient vampire was trapped where I found out that it is my death what sets him free. I drowned in a puddle of water and was revived with CPR by Xander, who was guided there by Angel. Master got dusted and I danced with Angel the entire prom night. The next day however, I sat on the bus on my way to spend almost an entire summer vacation with my dad in LA.  
  
And that was the beginning of the adventure of my lifetime. An adventure that I'm still living in.  
An adventure that really started off after my nightmare and then visiting the Renaissance Faire with my dad.  
  
This is where it started .... the adventure of Buffy of Fairy Tail.


	2. Nightmare and Faire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy is with her dad and ....

**Nightmare and Faire**  
  
  
The clawed hand was gripping her throat and she knew she needed to get away. She knocked the claws away and ran, but her feet were running over nothing. She didn't gain any ground, and then a deep voice from the darkness whispered and laughed at her.  
  
"You tried. It was noble of you. You heard the prophecy that I was about to break free and you came to stop me, but prophecies are tricky. They don't tell you everything. You're the one that sets me free. If you hadn't come, I couldn't escape. Think about that."  
  
Buffy shot upwards in her bed, breathing hard. Looking around herself she realized that **1)** she was not in Sunnydale anymore, **2)** She was in LA with her dad and in the new house he had inherited from his Great Aunt Mary. **3)** The Master couldn't hurt anyone ever again, because she had thrown him off the roof and onto a wooden table leg. She had watched from above how his impaled body slowly crumbled and disintegrated to dust until only his skeleton was left. She saw the tentacles of the demon that started to crawl from the Hellmouth fall back into the floor. Finally, **4)** if she were ever to live to marry someone, her dress wouldn't be white nor the wedding near water.  
  
Sighing, she started to dress, and then paused, remembering that her dad mentioned at having to go to the Renaissance Faire today and asked if she'd like to accompany him. She said that she would. He had even gotten her a renaissance dress, which she took from her closet and put it on her unmade bed so that it wouldn't wrinkle.  
  
It was an olive green dress with a square neckline and was embroidered all over with black and red thread. She pulled her shoulder length blonde hair over her right shoulder, using matching ribbons to pin her hair in place. After some touches of natural makeup and she was done and ready to go.  
  
  
*******  
  
  
Buffy entered the kitchen fully dressed for the Faire to find her father dressed in what she guessed was Tudor courtier garb.  
  
"Morning Princess," said Hank, looking up briefly from the morning newspaper he was reading.  
  
"Morning dad," Buffy answered. "Have you already eaten?"  
  
"Yes I have. Have some ham and hard boiled ages. Then we'll head to the Faire."  
  
"Okay, dad."  
  
She ate breakfast and then they went to the car to drive to the park where the Renaissance Faire was being held. The half hour drive was uneventful as they hadn't talked much.  
  
Not that they ever did, Hank lived for the social life of LA.  
  
"We're here," her father suddenly said, and true to his words the Faire was booming with loud instrumental music, children laughing and running, and many people were dressed the part, just like she and her father were. There were carousals with horses, a petting zoo where ponies, little goats, and rabbits could be petted by people, attractions like the man that could eat swords, a blacksmith, a track where visitors could ride horses or try their hand at shooting an arrow, acrobats all surrounded by colourful tents and stalls that sold souvenirs, food, drink, fortune tellers and anything you could ever dream of being on faire.  
  
Buffy felt, although she did not expect to feel so giddy about being here. After facing the Master and drowning in that puddle, she didn't feel much joy. Oh sure, she put on the brave face and …  
  
"…my daughter Buffy," she heard her father saying. She shook off the not so fond memories and depressing thoughts of, as Giles put it, her _'sacred duty to slay vampires'_ if only for a short while. She knew that sooner or later they would invade her thoughts alongside fear.  
  
"Hello, Miss Summers."  
  
The man that her father was talking too smiled at Buffy. "Hank was just telling me that you will be in LA for the entire summer vacation." Then his smile turned apologetic for some reason.  
  
"Now, Mr. Winchester, no worries. I'll tell Buffy later today. I think that for now, the children should go to the Faire and have some summer entertainment."  
  
Uh, uh, now that sounds sort of the bad, what went through Buffy's head. She knew that soon the other shoe would drop. It wouldn't be her life if it didn't. Come to think of it, all misfortune really started when she was called. There really was no choice, was there? She was cursed, and all those who were close to her would get hurt, one way or another.  
  
When she returned to Sunnydale, she'd somehow make sure that Willow and Xander wouldn't suffer the pain of knowing her. Their lives were difficult enough as it was. Pike was right to leave her but...  
  
Mr. Winchester and his two teen daughters, or rather step daughters since Mr. Winchester was divorced and then remarried a woman that was younger than his previous spouse, were on this fair to have some father daughter time. Perhaps her dad would emulate him at some point.  
So as the adults started to discuss a third business the teens were free to wander the Faire.  
  
Hours later, Buffy was having the time of her life. Granted she didn't spent any quality time with her dad as he just gave her some money and sent her off on her own. Well, with Molly and Polly Winchester or whatever their names were, but they were separated almost immediately. Buffy could honestly say that she preferred it that way. She went and bought some cute hair ornaments that she would give to Willow when she returned to Sunnydale, and there was a pointy wizard's hat that she would give to Giles as a gag gift, as well as a comic book that had Xander's name all over it.  
  
But for herself, she would win a prize in an archery competition. The prize in question was an old, practically antique figurine of a phoenix and a lady made from painted porcelain. It was beautiful, and Buffy thought that it would look nice on her writing desk at home.  
  
Just because she decided to distance herself from her friends when she got back didn't mean that she won't enjoy moments like these.  
  
When she felt like a normal girl.  
  
When she was just Buffy, daughter of Joyce and Hank Summers.  
  
  
*****Next day; Hank Summers town house*****  
  
  
Then the other shoe firmly dropped the next day when she came down to eat breakfast. My dad had a suitcase and a briefcase packed.  
  
"I'm so sorry honey," he said. "Something came up and I have to go to … but I will be back in two maybe four weeks. You'll be all right on your own, right? Visit some of your friends from Hemery."  
  
"I will dad." Then after a slight hesitation, "Dad, there was a flyer for driving lessons, and I was wondering if I could go?"  
  
"Of course, Princess!" Hank smiled. "And Buffy, if you manage to pass the test when I get back, we'll go and buy you a car. It will be used but it would be yours. All right, honey?"  
  
"Well, the lessons start in a week, so I don't know if I'll be done with lessons when you come back, dad."  
  
"Well, then I'll give you driving lessons in your new car."  
  
"Yeah, thanks dad."  
  
And with that he was out of the door and drove off. Buffy closed the front door and leaned on the wooden surface of the door and turned the key, all without looking at what she was doing.  
She felt a keen sense of disappointment, as she had expected that her dad would pay attention to her, or at least stay in LA during her summer break. Granted, when they lived together as family, Hank didn't pay much attention to his daughter. He always had business to attend to, and her mother was just as busy, if not with selling and buying artwork, it was busy in housing parties.  
  
Joyce had only just started to be motherly again. There was a time when Buffy's cousin, Celia, was alive and Hank and Joyce were not so career-driven and obsessed with social status. When her mom and dad were just that, her mom and dad.  
  
Then a promotion came for Hank and he was home less and less. Joyce dealt with her husband's absence by surrounding herself with the socialites of LA, the artwork, and being a hostess to her husband's co-workers in the firm. Hank was quickly climbing the social ladder.  
  
She climbed the stairs slowly, having in mind the firm thought to get some sleep and then go turn some vampires to dust when the sun set. Closing the door to her room a bit too forcefully, she was startled by loud crash.  
  
When she saw the porcelain shards of the figurine that she won in archery contest at the Faire yesterday, she heaved a tired sigh. She grabbed a waste basket and started to pick up the shards when something reddish gold caught her eye among the white porcelain. Pulling it out, she could see that it was a reddish gold chain with a pendant a bit longer than her index finger. The pendant was shaped like a key and the top was shaped like a vermilion coloured bird, its wings spread as if wanting to fly off the key.  
  
"How did you get in there?" she murmured to the necklace, running a finger over the shockingly warm metal. Feeling nothing malicious from the piece of jewellery, she put it on. It warmed her heart instantly, like a warm, loving hug from a friend she hadn't seen in years. She felt her fears, insecurities, nightmares, and the terrifying weight of her calling ebb away, like darkness from a ray of sunshine.  
  
Smiling, she picked up a phone book, intending to order pizza for her lunch, and then she will go out to catch a movie or something. Perhaps she'd even run into some of her old friends. Or make a new one. Or go shopping. Anyway it was summer vacation – and she could enjoy it.  
  
  
*******  
  
  
It was two in the morning when she returned home … and no she hadn't done any slaying. In fact, she hadn't seen anything resembling the supernatural the entire day. She had pizza for dinner, and then she curled up in the comfy couch reading a book, something she had rarely done after becoming Miss Popular, and even rarer after being called.  
  
Come to think of it, ever since she saw her first vampire it was like she could not escape it. The supernatural weirdness, it was like she could not un-see what she saw, or …  
  
Head snapping up from Tolkien's _The Hobbit_ , which she was currently reading, she tilted her head. Shrugging the vague feeling away, she went back to reading, when she heard it again.  
  
It was like whispering. Up in the attic, no less. Great. She was just thinking that nothing supernatural happened to her, celebrating, really. She apparently jinxed herself by thinking _'Yay nothing weird happened today'_. Firmly closing the Hobbit, she stood up, pocketed a stake and after some thought a stiletto blade, just in case a bladed weapon was needed. She found a stiletto more practical than a Swiss knife in any case, prettier too. Deadly and pretty, her favourite – it made beheading demons easier. Pity she'd have to return it to her mom's collection before she noticed it was missing.  
  
Carefully, so that she wouldn't make a sound, she pried open the attic door only to find old furniture, some boxes, and lots of spider webs as well as a layer of dust covering every surface.  
The only thing that was free of dust was an old leather bound book …or was it a box? She could not quite make it out. Nudging the book with her toe, she circled it once, just in case. Nothing happened. There were no evil vibes coming from the book either.  
  
She was sure. She was certain that this would not harm her in any way. From where this certainty came from, Buffy had no idea. But she'd trust this instinct she had…so she picked up the book and flipped it open to somewhere in the middle.  
  
Just when she flipped a page, an array of purple symbols, golden figures, and green glyphs swirled from the book, enveloping around Buffy in a pinprick of light.  
  
*******  
  
_**Next chapter:** Chapter 2: God of life and death, Ankhseram and Phe the Vermillion Phoenix_


	3. God of life and death, Ankhseram and Phe the Vermillion Phoenix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dumped in the middle of nowhere? No thank you.Did it happen anyway? Yes, it so did.  
> How did she get here? Well that is a bit more complicated.

**God of life and death, Ankhseram and Phe the Vermillion Phoenix**   
  


Buffy's next memory was waking up which was very disorienting; she was falling, falling like Alice in the Wonderland until her fall slowed down and she landed lightly, like a feather, on a golden marble floor.  
  
There was a moment of silence and then Buffy heard the sound of a soft giggling. Angling her head toward the sound, she felt her mouth drop open in surprise. The giggling sound came from a bird. It had a shape of a swan, but its head and beak resembled a heron and it had a tail like a peacock. The colour was not that of any of the birds' though; the wings were vermilion and deep orange while its tail feathers had many shades of red and orange. Its eyes were viridian green as it watched Buffy with fondness and care; the feathers were weathered in luminescent fire.  
Suddenly she clutched her pounding head. "Easy there." She heard a voice and looked up; yep it was the bird talking.  
  
"I'm a phoenix, not a bird. My name is Phe; nice to finally talk with you Buffy."  
  
Buffy will later claim that it was because she suffered the mother of headaches, but all she was able to produce after Phe's introduction was an embarrassing squeak, like a mouse; this made Phe giggle again. Still clutching her pounding head, Buffy dragged herself up onto her elbow; figuring that her balance was intact, despite the headache, she tried to stand up.  
  
She was a bit unsteady on her feet but she was able to stand.  
  
"So you arrived," came a male voice from behind. Whirling around, Buffy saw a tall, dark, and intimidating male being. Buffy knew that it was definitely not a human; humans normally didn't have silvery skin, pitch black eyes, and … green leafy hair. But it was no demon either.  
  
"I mean you no harm, Buffy Anne Summers," he continued, making Phe snort; could birds … phoenixes snort?  
  
"Calm down Phe, I mean your hatchling no harm." And now he was talking to the phoenix, and did he just called her a hatchling?  
  
Then he turned those pitch black, no they weren't black, they were two voids … like two eye shaped black holes to her; Buffy barely suppressed a shiver.  
  
"I'm Ankhseram, god of life and death." That was pretty much a shock to the young Slayer. "I promise," the god, an actually god, continued. "I will not harm you," he reassured again.  
  
"You said that before," Buffy commented, and congratulated herself for not totally freaking out. This was so far beyond the scope of her duty as The Slayer. Vampires? Sure, they are in the title; the occasional demon, fine. But a god, an actual god of Life and Death? No, that was beyond her.  
  
"Ahh, Buffy, dear, you have no duty;" Phe interrupted suddenly, her eyes blazing in green fire.  
  
"Wh – what?" Buffy was becoming confused; wasn't she here because she was The Slayer, the Chosen one, the one girl in the world to combat the forces of darkness?  
  
Ankhseram, smiled, "No you are not here because you are, or rather were The Chosen One. You are here for several reasons; one because you died, passing the mantle, the duties, to the next Chosen One." At Buffy's stunned look, Phe enveloped the girl in her feathered embrace.  
  
"Don't worry hatchling, it will be all right," she trilled, making Buffy sag... in relief, dejection? Buffy was not sure. Was she happy to be free of The Slayer title? And why did her powers stay with her if the power was gone, left for the next girl.  
  
"Because once power is given it can not be taken away. Not even by the gods." At Buffy's startled look, Phe smiled; how did she manage that with a beak? It was a mystery.  
  
"I'm with you now; you are my hatchling since you put the Vermilion gate key necklace on yourself."  
  
"You can do what you want with the power that you received with your calling, but if you decide to forgo slaying vampires and evil demons and sorcerers you'll need to leave the Hellmouth and near vicinities, since those places draw vampires and demons. They won't leave you alone," at Phe's hiss, Ankhseram amended, "But since you have Phe with you, she can be your protection, shield if you would, from forces of darkness, or the Council of Watchers."  
  
"Is this why since I put on that necklace," Buffy begun to ask looking from the god to the phoenix. "I haven't encountered a vampire? And what is The Council of Watchers? Are they friends of Giles and Merrick?"  
  
"Yes, it was like vampires ceased to exist," Ankhseram confirmed Buffy's question. "In a way they had, along with evil demons and humans. Lesser evils were purified by the presence of Phe, while stronger ones shied away from the vicinity."  
  
He then walked over, waving his hand and from the golden marble emerged a settee with comfortable cushions on which they all sat down.  
  
"As for the Watcher's Council, Merrick worked for them; mostly Merrick was a freelance Watcher. Rupert Giles is more coveted by them since he was induced into Watcher training at such a young age, despite his rebellious stage; he is very much a Traditional Watcher or would be if he wasn't more influenced by his grandmother. Anyway the Council views the Slayers as tools with which they, the Watcher's Council, fight the darkness."  
  
Phe hissed again, her eyes burned with green fire, "What Ankhseram isn't saying," she started angrily, "is that Watchers or at least those in command of Watchers, treat the slayers, and in a lesser extent potential slayers, as less than human, or a person, or even a tool…but more as disposable tissue. Which is foolish on their part; they isolate the girl not allowing the general human population to benefit from the protection The Slayer can generate by forming bonds."  
  
Phe then looked softly at Buffy. "Didn't you notice that the same aged people that you befriended developed some physical resistance to injuries, or are showing aptitude in magic, or growing faster and stronger in a fight between a human teen and a vampire? That is all because of the mystical component that makes up a slayer; it gives protection and ability to others to fight against the supernatural evil in the world."  
  
Buffy hadn't been able to form a sentence after that explanation. Not really wanting to think about it if she was honest with herself. "You said that there are several reasons for me being here?"  
  
"Ah yes, since the Council has their puppet," Ankhseram continued, smirking, glad that Phe let that cat out of the bag. "And you finding the Vermilion Key and gaining a family or totem animal in The Vermilion Bird, I saw the opportunity to save some people and interfere in the way the Universe works. In other words I'd like to rectify… no you to help me rectify mistake that was partly made by me and partly by chance."  
  
"Okay?" Buffy squeaked again; she was doing a lot of squeaking lately, like a doggy squeak toy, but did a god just give her a …choice?  
  
"Are you kidding?!" Ankhseram exclaimed, "Of course I'm giving you a choice … Phe would peck me to death if I did not."  
  
Said phoenix gave the god of life and death a droll look. "No, I'd set you on eternal fire, much more painful for a god," she said dryly.  
  
Buffy giggled. Then she frowned when the void eyes of Ankhseram and the green fire look turned on her.  
  
"Ugh, why do I have a feeling that if I agree some things will be painful?"  
  
"Because you are not wrong" Ankhseram asked and stated at the same time. "But not to worry I will send you in equipped, ready, and informed."  
  
"And I'll be with you … always and forever. After all you are my hatchling, Buffy. Don't forget that."  
  
"What about mom and dad? My friends in Sunnydale, school?" Buffy asked, in her confusion she, for the moment, forgot about her family and her friends she made in Sunnydale.  
  
"The time flows differently where you'll be; besides I will give you the ability to travel between two dimensions. In general, one month in your birth dimension is a year in Earthland. But even that you can tweak a bit. With my endorsement of course. No worries it will work out, being a god has its perks you know."  
  
  
 *****Somewhere in Fiore, Earthland*****  
  
  
Dumped in the middle of nowhere? _No thank you._  
  
Did it happen anyway? _Yes, it so did._  
  
How did she get here? _Well that is a bit more complicated._  
  
According to her …employer yeah, Buffy thought, that is good label for Ankhseram, which happens to be a god of life and death she needed that celestial silver key. Or Buffy thought in some dejection, former silver key, since The Noctua constellation was no longer recognized on Earth. But the Owl celestial spirit was very knowledgeable and had a load of books in her library in Celestial Spirit World; she didn't look like an owl either, like Jade Zodiac spirits did, but more like an owl like version of a female Giles. The Owl had a British like accent and glasses, but even so Buffy was glad to have the wise old owl-lady on board.  
  
But what she couldn't decide was what to do with the rest of the silver keys that lay besides Owl's Key and had been lost when their previous contractor person died a hundred years ago in the middle of nowhere.  
  
Ankhseram had only given her instruction of what to do with the Jade Zodiac keys that didn't and won't bond with her. Find a decent hearted Celestial Spirit Mage to give them to.  
  
'So make the contract with the silver keys, hatchling.' And that was Phe's voice inside her head.  
  
'Are you sure that I can?' Buffy thought back. 'I mean Ankhseram didn't say anything.'  
  
There was annoyed huff in her mindscape and an agitated rustling of feathers.  
  
'Okay, okay, Phe I'll form the contracts,' she thought in a hurry.  
  
'Stop being so squishy in accepting things that come your way, hatchling. Not every power comes with a price tag on it.'  
  
"All right," Buffy said out loud and pulled out one of the silver keys that she hadn't yet made a contract with apparently.  
  
"Here it goes, I am the person that connects the road to celestial spirit world," she said, eyeing the engraved sign of the constellation on the key for a moment. "Thou shall respond to the call and pass through the gate." Buffy could feel the energy, the silver stardust swirling around the key, "open, the gate of Lyncis: Lynx!"  
  
In the burst of silver bubbles, before her stood a cat like woman in a yellow cat suit, a whip dangling from her hip. She stood taller than Buffy, with reddish blond and black spotted hair and cat ears with black tufts at the top of her head. She wore coral red lipstick and pale green up-sweep around her amber eyes.  
  
"Hello," the cat woman said her amber eyes alert and intent on Buffy's face. "It's been a while since I have been called out."  
  
"Hi, I'm Buffy Summers. I would like to form a contract with you."  
  
"I see, you already formed a contract with an Owl, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then what took you so long to summon me? Or the others?"  
  
"Ehhh." Buffy recoiled with a bit of apprehension when the celestial spirit glared at her. Boy did the woman look like a fierce lioness and not a lynx.  
  
Suddenly there was burst of blue fire and Phe's head materialized in the flames. "Hiya Lynx, the hatchling was being stupid in her reluctance to expect some good power ups. Don't give her to hard of time. Bye now!" and with that the flame disappeared.  
  
The red brow over the lynx's eye rose in question. "Is that true?"  
  
"Yes," Buffy said. "Sorry it won't happen again."  
  
"Right you are a celestial mage, yes!" the cat said.  
  
Buffy nodded, and then she wanted to explain, "Yes. But I only have…"  
  
"It doesn't matter what keys you hold, or how many, or whom you work for, you are a Celestial Spirit Mage. Don't forget the pride that comes with that."  
  
Buffy nodded. "Okay. What can you do and when are you available to be called?"  
  
"That's more like it. I am mostly capturing things and prey expert." Lynx patted her whip. "And I like snow and milk products; I hate fish and you can call me any time."  
  
"Ok," Buffy nodded, committing the info to memory, "now can you wait for a bit? I'd like to find out what my limit of holding the gates open is."  
  
"No problem," came the cat woman's reply as she sat down on the nearby rock. Buffy looked at her for a moment, wondering how exactly it came to this …  
  
'Hatchling, the spirits are not mindless tools; they have a mind of their own and have their own feelings – is this one of the reasons why you are so reluctant to get contracted to them?'  
  
'I don't want to force them into something they don't want.' Then Buffy heaved a sigh. 'If you don't mind I'd like to made contracts now.'  
  
'Sure I won't make a sound, but remember, just because the word contract is applied, it does not mean the spirits can not be your friends and family.' With that Phe's presence in Buffy's mind became less.  
  
So Buffy pulled the next silver key, with an ancient Greek glyph for arrow. Pointing the key she intoned.  
  
"I am the person that connects the road to celestial spirit world. Thou shall respond to the call and pass through the gate." Buffy could feel the energy, the silver stardust swirling around the key, "open, the gate of accurate Sagittae: Arrow!"  
  
In sparks of magic, that seemed to always indicate the spirit entry, there flouted a … arrow?  
"Okay, not what I expected, but Ok, Hi I'm Buffy Summers, I'd like to form a contract with you."  
Arrow vibrated.   
  
"Ok, I assume that those were words but …"  
  
"Arrow says that he is free whenever he can shoot arrows."  
  
"Thank you Lynx. Ugh Arrow can you stick around? I'd like to know my limit."  
  
Arrow vibrated again. Buffy sighed tiredly, "I'll really need to figure a way to communicate with you." No reason to stop now, Buffy thought when she grabbed the next key with a Greek glyph.  
  
"I am the person that connects the road to celestial spirit world. Thou shall respond to the call and pass through the gate." Buffy could feel the energy, the silver stardust swirling around the key, "open, the gate of Vulpeculae: Fox!"  
  
The being that appeared had a human body and a fox head; actually, Buffy thought with small amusement, the fox looked like the Walt Disney fox Robin Hood. But unlike the cat woman, he was dressed like the character Arsène Lupin, the thief and gentlemen from the books and movies her mother likes so much, and sometimes Buffy watched a movie with her mom. Granted those were French black-and- white movies.  
  
"Hello, my lady," Fox purred, like a cat, while giving a graceful gentlemanly bow, and removing his top hat and kissing Buffy's right hand. Yep, definitely a fox version of Arsène Lupin.  
  
"Hello, foxy man." Two can play this game and she was not above harmless flirting and by the looks of it neither was Foxy.  
  
"Oh you have spunk; I like that in an owner." Fox smiled, "Hey Lyn doesn't our mistress remind you of a twin sister of a previous master, figure and all?"  
  
"Ugh, can you not," then she turned to Lynx and Arrow. "Can we be co-workers or something first, not owner and property?"  
  
"Yep she definitely does," Lynx interjected. "Fox can you stay after you form a contract? Mistress Buffy is trying to find out her limits of the opened celestial gates." Then lynx turned to Buffy.   
  
"Feeling fatigued magically yet?"  
  
Buffy took a breath, closed her eyes for a bit, and yanked on her magical powers. "I don't think so. I don't feel any strain yet."  
  
Foxy Man nodded, "Then I think you can risk another two gates to form a contract, and then dismiss the spirits." At Buffy's protesting look, he raised the white gloved hand. "It is just a precaution; this is your first time summoning celestial spirits, right?"  
  
Buffy opened her mouth to protest, and then she remembered that her Jade Keys did not fall under Celestial Holder Magic, but under Requip* or Take Over** Holder*** type magic. The phoenix powers that come from Phe was more like Caster type magic, since Phe lived inside Buffy. So phoenix abilities were always with the hatchling – Buffy. So Buffy nodded, yes those silver keys she is making a contract with were Celestial Magic.  
  
"Right," Fox continued, "I'm no good in combat, but if you need to require something, I'm your man; you can call me any time then."  
  
Like she thought, Fox the Thief and Gentleman. Smiling she picked another key, she had four silver keys remaining, well two, then she'll do some walking. She had quite the distance to the nearest village – Daisy – all towns and villages in Fiore Kingdom were named after plants.  
  
"I am the person that connects the road to celestial spirit world. Thou shall respond to the call and pass through the gate." Buffy could feel the energy, the silver stardust swirling around the key, "open, the gate of all seeing Telescopii: Telescope!"  
  
This spirit was similar to Arrow, it was a mechanical telescope and like with Arrow Buffy needed translating. Apparently Telescope, had an ability to see any distance and anything or anyone. It didn't do anything else. That was okay for Buffy.  
  
"I am the person that connects the road to celestial spirit world. Thou shall respond to the call and pass through the gate." Buffy could feel the energy, the silver stardust swirling around the key, "open, the gate of the shield: Scutum!"  
  
This one was again literal; it was a shield. It looked like those medieval big shields with a cross, only this one had a star motif, and had legs and arms, and a mouth and eyes.  
  
"Hello, Princess, I will be your faithful shield; call me when you need protection and I'll be there!"  
  
"Thank you Scutum, I'm looking forward in working for you," Buffy said and then watched as the celestial spirits returned home. Sighing, she started to walk toward the Daisy village.  
  
  
 *****Month later-Fiore-*****  
  
Buffy was trekking through the middle of nowhere in the Ishgar continent. En route to the city called Magnolia, where she was instructed to join the Mage Guild called Fairy Tail, with a backpack with clothes and a small purse for her 12 Jade Zodiac Gate keys, but it was true that she could only use Jade Zodiac animals she had bonded with and had mystical alignment with.  
So to recap her adventure so far.  
  
Her name is Buffy Anne Summers, daughter of Joyce and Hank Summers, now divorced and living separately. She is a 16 year old student of Sunnydale High in California on the planet Earth. She was also a Slayer that reached her destiny and died in the line of duty. What makes her different is that she was still alive. Making her the second slayer in the history of Vampire Slayers that was in this predicament; the first one was a Norse slayer that was currently time jumping being chased or sometimes chasing some type of demon.  
  
Destiny free, which was what Buffy, was until she agreed to be Champion of Ankhseram. Ankhseram who is an actual god of life and death, who asked her to do some guarding, guiding, helping with stuff for a couple of people. While living her own life as Buffy pleased with Phe, who was a Phoenix and her companion, who lived inside her soul and in a necklace she wore even now.  
Ankhseram also gave her 12 keys of Jade Zodiac; they were actual keys, made from jade, with corresponding 12 Chinese zodiac animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig carved as the key's bow.  
  
Monkey was the first of the Jade Zodiac whom bonded with her.   
  
Possibly because the Jade gates were related to the Chinese calendar and she were born in the year of the Monkey. While using the power of Hóu jade dress, Buffy scoffed at the memory of the clothing, it was definitely not a dress; it was more in line of white baggy harem trousers that were tied with golden bands at the ankle with a loose baby blue shirt with long wide sleeves and with embroidered golden chrysanthemum on the back. The outfit came also with a weapon an iron staff.  
  
She gained some abilities of the monkey's, which made Monkey Kung Fu that Hóu taught her easier to do. When using the Hóu jade dress, she also gained a magic staff which can shift in length, kind of like that staff from the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. But unlike the cave girl look that Diana sported, Buffy liked the harem girl look.  
  
Following her Monkey friend there was Ox; it was funny that the Jade Animal looked more like a Tibetan Yak.   
  
The Niú jade dress consisted of a silken mulberry purple full sleeve blouse with embroidered tulips and peach blossoms at the hems; the blouse was tucked inside a loose, blue gown type garment, tightened by a red silk sash that had painted evergreen branches on it. Powers Buffy received when dressed in Niú were added strength, and adamantine, halberd like, war hammer. For a hammer it was very elegant looking; Buffy liked it; it made her feel like she was the female version of Thor.  
  
Her trip down memory lane was interrupted by a sound. Looking around she spotted an old woman, whose shopping bags had split open.  
  
She was really hoping this was some dastardly plan by some thefts or bandits. She was itching to try out what Ankhseram had taught her after he kidnapped her from her father's attic with a book of all things.  
  
Now that was one weird and unusual experience, and she thought she saw everything. Living in LA moving to the Hellmouth, drowning in the puddle by the Master vampire, receiving CPR from a friend, falling in love – that wouldn't be so strange if the love in question wasn't a 200+ year old vampire cursed with his soul by some vengeful gypsies.  
  
"Excuse me lady? Do you need help?"  
  
The lady was weirdly proportioned, with a big head and with white hair tied in a bun. "Thank you dear," the old lady said. "Yes, I would like some help."  
  
  
 *****Month later Grandmothers cottage*****  
  
  
Two questions on that day changed things for Buffy. For one thing it was a month ago since she had meet Grandmother Millie, helped her with her bags and escorted her to her cottage.  
  
"I can't believe it has been a month," she muttered, never mind her making a jump back to LA to pass the written exam for her drivers’ license. She passed that, now she only needed a car that her father promised to buy. But that was for later, now, she was helping the little old lady tend to her garden, feed the chickens, and help with the laundry. But now Buffy was feeling restless and as she overlooked the fields, she made a decision; she can not stay here any longer. But before she will tell Grandmother Millie, she'll have to make a contract with the rest of the silver key spirits.  
  
"I suppose, no time like now," she muttered then pulled the key out. "Open, the gate of Lyncis: Lynx!"  
  
And the cat woman appeared. "Hi Lyn, I'm going to call an Owl now; then I'll make contract with the remaining keys."  
  
"Bout time!" exclaimed the celestial spirit.  
  
"I agree with you. Open the gate of The Wise: Noctua." And Buffy's very first celestial spirit appeared.  
  
"Hello young Buffy."  
  
"Hi Owl."  
  
"I am the person that connects the road to celestial spirit world. Thou shall respond to the call and pass through the gate. Open, the gate of the cup: Crater!"  
  
Buffy stared, that was the weirdest celestial spirit she saw, and it was a mug, a traveling mug with arms and legs and a face.  
  
"Hello I'm Crater, I'm able to keep people safe within my body and I have healing abilities. I can cure lack of oxygen, bug bites, depression, anxiety, and itchiness"  
  
"All right thank you." And with that Crater returned home.  
  
"You didn't ask him to stay?"  
  
"No need. I'll hold the gates open later. I am the person that connects the road to celestial spirit world. Thou shall respond to the call and pass through the gate." Buffy could feel the energy, the silver stardust swirling around the key, "open, the gate of the wolf: Lupus!"  
  
She could only stare, because this celestial spirit gave the new meaning to the Big Bad Wolf, with capital BBW. He was tall, definitely male, dressed in red and black leather. His hair was like raven wings, which depending on the light were red, mahogany, brown, or black.  
  
"Hello," the wolf smiled. "Lyn and Fox told me that we have the new … I suppose you don't like the word owner."  
  
"Do you?"  
  
"Touché. No I don't like it, so I suppose you are my Alpha now. I am battle oriented, I can teleport, telepathy, and object transmutation."  
  
"Buffy!" Turning around, Buffy saw Millie going toward her eyes alight.  
  
"I knew it, you are a celestial Mage," Millie crowed in delight.  
  
Buffy gave her a droll look. "Uh grandma, I never tried to hide that."  
  
"No but you haven't used any of them with your chores."  
  
"Spirits are not slaves, you know; some are actually my friends." Buffy waved her hand at Lynx. "I don't know the wolf yet to call him that, but I'm looking forward at knowing him better."  
  
"You and Fox were right," Buffy heard wolf mutter to Lynx, "She is very much like our previous master's twin sister, both in personality and looks."  
  
"Sometimes I wonder if …"Buffy was unable to hear more since Millie kept talking over her spirits' voices. She made a mental note to ask Phe if she knew what the Celestial Spirits were talking about.  
  
"Oh I know that, but I wanted to see what the Celestial Spirits mean to you, Buffy the Celestial Mage." Then she patted her elbow, "This old lady thanks you for the company, but I'll go living near Crocus, with my daughter's family."  
  
Buffy remembered how Millie was telling her about her daughter whom married a man named Gregory Agria.(1)  
  
Millie holds up a small square box to Buffy.  
  
"Here, I was worried that I wouldn't happen on an appropriate celestial mage that would treat her or his spirits right."  
  
Buffy opens the box and on the red velvet sat a golden key. The flat side of the bow of the key had red markings, a glyph; the loop on the top bar was symbolic of the sun. The bar itself was symbolic of the horizon. This was a highly balanced expression. The tip of the key was in a U-shape.  
  
"This is …"  
  
"Yes Buffy," Millie smiled, "it is the Key of Zodiac Celestial Spirit –Libra." Now Millie's eyes turned intense. "I thought to give the Key to Sorano or Yukino, but both of my grand daughters disappeared, but you …" Millie's eyes turned surprisingly misty. "You remind me so much of Lisa." Wiping the tear from the corner of her eye, she continued, "Now make a contract Buffy."  
  
"All right," murmured Buffy still shocked. "I will, and Grandma Millie you are not the only one that feels like that, during the month I knew you … I came to look at you as my actual grandma."  
Millie's arms wrapped around the taller teen, and Buffy hugged her back. Then she pulled back, nodding at Millie and said "I am the person that connects the road to celestial spirit world. Thou shall respond to the call and pass through the gate. Open the gate of The Heavenly Scales – Libra!"  
  
A swirls of golden star dust gathered, forming a magic circle and from it appeared Libra, a curvaceous woman with dark hair tied in an ox horn style, dressed like a belly dancer consisting of a frilled and striped bikini top along with a patterned loincloth sporting pom-poms at the waist. There were numerous bangles on her arms and legs, clinking along with the chains on her fingers that were dangling from her hands. The spirit of the scales carried a pair of scales with thin cords running from her fingertips to the sides of the scales, so that she held them in an almost puppeteer-like fashion. She wore a simple pair of sandals, and her head was dressed with a zigzagged headband. Concealing Libra's lower face was another cloth that bears her sign, tied around her head.  
  
                                                                                                          ***  
  
After emotional goodbye to Millie, Buffy was on the road again … well she will be. She'll have to open the gate and see if her dad returned yet, to show him a driver's license because she passed. After all, he did promise her a car.  
  
 **To be continued**  
  
(1) Agria Yukino – in this fic Gregory is her father (and father of Yukino’s older sister Sorano aka Angel). Now Yukino is not missing her grandma is not on top of the news. If she was she would NOT give Libra to Buffy.  
  
* Requip magic – allows the users to store items in a pocket dimension so they can easily summon it at any time, even during battle, which gives them a high level of flexibility in combat. However, there is a limit to how much the pocket dimension can store. Requip can be used for simple or combat-related purposes. Some users may just choose to use it to change their clothing.  
  
** Take Over magic- allows the user to, essentially, "take over" the power, of an entity and use it to fight. It can increase the power, strength, and speed of the Caster, sometimes adding a new skill, such as flying or breathing underwater. One can only "take over" the power of beings that they truly "know".  
  
***Holder type – Is Magic that requires a Mage to use an external source to produce the Magic. It usually requires the use of Magic Power, though there are some exceptions such as Edolas Items that are powered by Lacrima.


	4. Black winged Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy stumbles on dark guild and things get complicated. But hey she is getting silver keys and a cat or two and a kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing, except for OC dark guild...

**Black winged Angel**   
  
_ The Kingdom of Fiore,  
A neutral country of 17 million people, it is a world of magic.  
Magic is bought and sold there every day; it is integral part of people's lives.  
And there are those who use magic as their occupation.  
Those people are referred to as: Mages.  
The Mages belong to various guilds and perform jobs on commission.  
There are a large number of Mage Guilds within the country.  
And in a certain city, there lies a certain guild.  
A guild, from which various legends were once born, or rather, will continue to be born long into the future. And its name is: _   
  
**FAIRY TAIL!**

* * *

  
  
_Kingdom of Fiore, X783, Freesia Town_  
  
Buffy was cursing. Not her usual thing to do, but still, she thought that this situation right now warranted her cussing. That and she was eighteen years old, or nearly eighteen; darn it, she had every right to cuss.  
  
Not that she was officially, or to her parents, friends, and other inhabitants of Sunnydale; no there she was still very much a sixteen year old. Like Xander, Willow, and Cordelia. The fact of the matter was, this age gap and her being stuck in Earthland for two years straight while only two days pass on Earth – was utterly Ankhseram doing. He said that she needed more experience before joining Fairy Tail, and it wasn't her time to join up with that guild just yet.  
  
So he did some dimensional time juggling – _Deus ex machina_ – she'll need a haircut when she returns, or just French braid her hair and pin it in the bun to hide that it grew. She won't be able to hide her lack of baby fat. But perhaps the 'notice me not' mentality of her mom will infect her friends and Giles as well.  
  
She grew up as well, she had to; the money she had to earn to eat, to sleep in a hotel or inn, for the occasional ticket for a train to travel around Fiore. All of that was not cheap. So she worked odd jobs as a barista in a coffee shop in one town, and as a maid in another – she still had her Lolita maid dress stashed in one of her spare suitcases, which were with her Jade Spirit, Dog, safekeeping in Jade spirit world. She even worked as librarian, won't Giles be proud of her if he ever finds out, and she rocks the sexy librarian look better than he could – according to couple of Rune Knights. She did make sort of a friend on the job; his name was Lahar –how very Cher of him and he was, and still is, a captain in the Detention unit.  
  
Being a librarian in Crocus however gave her access to books and to further her knowledge; she had to read when she had the free time – she was there working and reading and learning for six months.  
  
Six months of learning about Kingdom of Fiore history. About villages and towns and about magic; there were a sort of evening magic classes that everyone could attend, so she took that opportunity and learned couple of spells that could make life easier. Some of those sounded as some sort of thing geeks from Hermy High were playing, what was it? – Dungeons and Dragons?. No, Buffy thought, that was a cartoon. She was pretty sure it had something to do with dungeons.  
  
Anyway, there were nine spells in total that she learned during her stay in the capital; three were a blessing type of magic of various levels.  
  
For example, Cleanse effect spell is a level two spell, which can clean magical influence. This spell was the first one she learned. It would do no good if some mage could cast a spell that gives her a stomach ache or something similar, so she thought that it is a good idea to learn this spell. One thing led to another and she joined the class and went through the library's books. The other spell she found very useful, and she found it in the library when she was filling the returned books to their place, was a third level spell, Missile deflect. It did what it described, it deflected lover tier spells. That was especially useful when she casts it on her clothes - they stayed nice and clean.  
  
The other two spells she learned were dark magic spells, since the two before were more of the light variety. Buffy purposely picked two dark magic, to balance out the light spells not that these two spells were not banned from using, but they were still considered dark.  
  
Sorrow knock was a first level spell that affects morale of the opponent. Along with that she learned a level three spell, Confound, in which the target forgets what she or he is doing, sometimes even forgetting how to use their magic.  
  
Fog Veil was useful when she wanted to hide, and if she wanted additional camouflage well, then the four level spell Etherealm granted in corporeality.  
  
Dream Knock, that was one of her favorites, sent the bad guys into Lala land, and while they took a snooze she carted them off to jail using her Cup spirit. Then there was first fire level spell called Fire trap, which made a trap out of fire. Winter circle was great if, of course, the mage she trapped in ice was not a fire mage, otherwise that was useless.  
  
That much reading would be impossible if not for special glasses she bought.  
  
Thank gods for Gale-Force Reading Glasses and because she saved a lot of money from her bounty hunting on the side – what she did have to keep up with her magic and physical abilities- she could afford, 120x Gale Force Reading Glasses, those glasses were truly god send, they boosted speed of reading up to 120 times.  
  
Imagine that 120 times! She'll make sure to take those to Sunnydale; she'll be able to do both her school work and patrol.  
  
Now if only this infernal rain would stop; Buffy was still a bit away from Freesia Town, but then the rain became a downpour. Like waterfall, the rain was thick. She didn't mind water, or being caught in the rain in the summer time. But this was ridiculous.  
  
'That is not ordinary rain,' said Phe's voice. It looks like somebody is awake. 'I was not sleeping this week, hatching, I was simply thinking.'  
  
'About what and what do you mean that this is not ordinary rain?'  
  
'Well, I think I found a way to combine Fenix Mode to that of a Jade or Star Dress.'  
  
'That's possible?'  
  
'Well, if there is a mystical correspondence between a Zodiac Spirit animal, Celestial Spirit, and me then yes, it is possible.'  
  
'That is something to try out later,' Buffy answered, but she was more interested what the inside of her mind companion was saying about rain. 'So what did you mean about this rain?'  
  
'Just that it is caused by magic.' Phe was silent for a moment. 'But it should clear in couple of hours. Since the person or persons causing this downpour are moving away.'  
  
"So I suppose I should seek shelter," Buffy said aloud, moot since there was not a soul that could hear her. But as she said that, she noticed a couple of run down buildings.  
  
"This would do," she muttered and started to run, throwing the door to an abandoned building open with a bang …and she could only stare...and be stared back at by at least fifty gorilla like men.  
  
So Buffy, being wet to the bone and a bit cold, did what anyone in her place would do.  
  
"Ohh HELL NO!"  
  
She yelled at the top of her lungs in sheer irritation. Because as it turned out, the building that she just kicked open to get out of the rain wasn't abandoned, or run down; it was a mage guild in disguise. Why was it pretending to be a run down building?  
  
Because it was a dark guild, that's why. And not just any guild, but Black Winged Angel; she heard once from Lahar, who was the Head Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit so he did know these things, that Black Winged Angel Guild served Oración Seis.  
  
Of course a fight broke out almost immediately after her yell; well, she did throw the first punch. Not fair, they had the numbers; still the fight was short lived.  
  
Lynx, Wolf, and Libra helped Buffy fight. Or rather Libra used her gravity field to pin half of the guild down; those that escaped Libra's gravity magic got mowed down by Wolf or tied with a whip and knocked out by Lynx. Buffy used her Shé jade dress, which give her quickness of strike of the snake, and every strike, even a glancing blow with a finger, was enough for her opponent to go down snoozing. Of course using the Snake Jade Gate could paralyze or kill an opponent just as easily as healing poison.  
  
Jade dress however was very flashy, Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra flashy. Pearly white sequins were held on tightly to the gold and green collar, cuffs, and wide waistband. This jade dress was where Buff's hairdo changed far more drastically: Beaded gold, Sapphire, and Jade in her hair, and not to mention a hooded snake figure on forehead.  
  
She looked like blond queen of the Nile!  
  
"That was the last one!"  
  
"Yep, thanks for your help, Libra, Lynx, and Wolf," Buffy thanked her spirits while watching the bound and unconscious members of Black Winged Angel guild. "I suppose I better make use of Com Lacrima and call Lahar to pick these people up."  
  
"Alpha," Wolf said looking around, "there is someone downstairs."  
  
"There is?"  
  
"I'll be right back," and with that Wolf teleported.  
  
"Obviously he doesn't need back up, right?"  
  
"Well, I suppose," Lynx hummed in thought, "hey just a thought, the master of this guild," she smiled, "before you KO'd him, was pulling a silver key out of his pocket."  
  
"And this is where I come in!"  
  
"Ack!" squeaked Buffy at the sudden and completely unplanned and unexpected appearance of the Fox.  
  
"Going trough the fat man's pockets is no job for Lady Buffy," Fox said bowing at Buffy.  
  
"Err, is that okay?" Buffy was a bit apprehensive; after all her spirits pretty much said that pillage of the dark guild was a good idea.  
  
"Finders keepers," Lynx said and started to rummage under the bar.  
  
"Indeed," Libra intoned her voice monotone.  
  
"The Council's Rune Knights would just auction it away," Fox said, "They almost never look for the original owners of anything."  
  
"Oh," Buffy said, and then started to look around as well. "Then I suppose I'll wait with the call to the Detention Corps."  
  
"Might be a good idea, yep."  
  
"Here, milady, there are two silver keys; one is Hydra the water serpent and Velorum the Sail."  
  
"Thank you, Fox."  
  
"Now if you'll excuse me. I'll look around some more while you make a contract to those two spirits."  
  
"Before that," Buffy interrupted, "Libra, can you alter the gravity of the bodies and Lynx bind their magic as well as their bodies; then you and Fox will help to drag the guild members in the other room and then I'll call Owl to seal the room."  
  
"Right."  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Roger."  
  
They all got to work in securing the truthfully defeated dark guild into the already sacked room.  
  
'Can I make the contract with these two celestial spirits? Is that even allowed?' Buffy asked Phe.  
  
'Sure it is; the previous owner was defeated by you, whom is a Celestial Spirit Mage, and you are holding the keys. So yes you can make the contract.' The answer from the phoenix came almost immediately.  
  
'Spirit politics?' asked Buffy.  
  
'Yep, if the Celestial mage is dead, the contract breaks; if he or she is arrested the contract breaks; if he or she is defeated by other Celestial Mage the keys go to the victor, if said victor takes the keys. Of course Gold Zodiac spirits can look for a victor by themselves, while Silver ones can not.'  
  
'Okay, I suppose I should make the contract huh?' Buffy thought back.  
  
"I am the person that connects the road to celestial spirit world. Thou shall respond to the call and pass through the gate. Open, the gate of The Water Serpent: Hydrae!"  
  
A magic circle, a swirl of Silver Star dust, and a lime colored serpent with a fishtail and two humans from the waist up, sharing the body of snake, appeared. The rear end looked more like an eel tail than a fish one though.  
  
"Who calls?" shrieked one side; it had slanted lidless red eyes and long red hair shaped in a vertical cone. Like a hat of a dwarf. Or a church spire.  
  
"Our new master," the other side said while its webbed hands waved a hello at Buffy. The other side had mauve colored eyes and hair.  
  
"I don't care," said the red side, crossing its arms and looking away petulantly, and, was it pouting? Buffy tried to see if she saw correctly, yup! The grumpy side of her new spirit is pouting like a five year old. As she watched Mauve, and Buffy really, really needed names or Hydra would get stuck being called by their hair colour, reached toward Red and shook her with the force that made its vertical hair swish back and forth like a whip.  
  
"Shut up, we are making a bad first impression."  
  
"Who cares?"  
  
"I do!"  
  
"Ehm, are you two done?" Buffy interceded. "Cuz as much as I enjoy free comedy I am a bit pressed for time so…"  
  
"See, you gave our new Mistress a bad impression."  
  
"No I didn't," the other head argued.  
  
"Okay, that is enough," Buffy said while she pulled the heads apart. "I'm Buffy. So when can I call you? What can you do? And what can I call you?"  
  
"Hello, Mistress Buffy. Call on Mondays and Fridays," said Mauve. "I am Bob; I have control over hot water." Then the grumpy red one turned its red eyes to Buffy. "I am Opop; I have control over any acidic liquid." And with that they disappeared.  
  
"Well," drawled Fox, "they are as social as ever."  
  
Buffy snorted; funnily enough this spirit was the only one that put a time based condition on their contract.  
  
"I am the person that connects the road to celestial spirit world. Thou shall respond to the call and pass through the gate. Open, the gate of The Sail: Velorum!"  
  
"And I thought this can not go any weirder." It was a floating boat!  
  
"Yes, and it can transport things and people by air, water, underwater, and above ground." Lynx told Buffy. "And you can call on it any time you need transport."  
  
Fox perked up. "Do you know what does this means?!" At his fellow spirits odd looks he said, "It means this guild was thieving …I need to look for secret rooms and…"  
  
"Medical aid, now, please!" Wolf appeared in a burst of speed carrying a boy and two cats. One cat, that was light blue and had round glasses and a grey beret, was awake and struggling while the little boy and light violet cat … they didn't look good.  
  
'Phe!' Buffy mentally shouted; she'll need the phoenix control, and she was nowhere experienced in using Fenix Mode for healing.  
  
'Do it!'  
  
Placing her palm over Phe's key necklese, "Fenix Mode," Buffy calmly said, and from inside her head Phe started to sing, a bright and delighted sound, and Buffy silhouette started to glow with brilliant blue and gold flames spiralling over and around Buffy's form. Flames forming a feather like short dress, like those of the ballerinas in Swan Lake, only the colour matched that of Phe's feathers.  
  
Quickly striding over to the little, orange haired, pale as a ghost boy and the shallow breathing cat, "Settle down," she said quietly to the hissing baby blue cat. "These are healing flames."  
  
"I only have your word," spat out the cat, his, it was definitely a he judging by the voice, black eyes glaring at her. Okay a talking cat … so not the weirdest thing she witnessed since coming here.  
  
"Yes, but if I wanted you harmed even more I wouldn't be telling you to settle down and explaining myself but leave you wherever Wolf found you."  
  
"I'm watching you woman," he hissed, but settled down when he saw that the flames were not harming either the violet cat or the boy.  
  
"Buffy."  
  
"What?"  
  
"My name is Buffy, Buffy Summers. What is yours?" Ohh a James Bond moment, Buffy thought with wry amusement, only backwards. He says his surname first.  
  
"Samuel."  
  
"Well Samuel, they are not out of danger yet. What in the world did they do to them?"  
  
"The master of this guild found us, and they put Snow Lacrima in Jack, who is the boy, and Electro Lacrima in my sister."  
  
"The kid is no more than five, and your sister's name is?"  
  
"Actually he is six years old," Samuel said adjusting his glasses a bit. "And my sister's name is Samantha."  
  
"Well, Samuel, when I stabilize Jack and Samantha, I'll call the Rune Knights." The Earthland version of cops, Buffy thought. At Samuel's alarmed look at the two ailing beings, she sobered up. Right, politics of the Mage Council.  
  
"New plan, I will stabilize them then I'm stashing the three of you somewhere, call the guards, get these people arrested, and then I'll pick you guys up," she said quickly, without breathing.  
  
Now that was babble worthy of Willow. "That okay with you?" Buffy asked Samuel, but Phe's mental voice rang out. 'If you use the Cup, and bathe them in flames they'll heal faster. And Cup can hide those two in the Celestial realm; they won't even need celestial clothes to survive there since they will be surrounded by my flames.'  
  
'Ok we'll do that.'  
  
"Yes," Samuel affirmed at Buffy's question, not aware of the conversation that just took place in Buffy's mindscape.  
  
"Open, the gate of the cup: Crater."  
  
As the cup appeared, Buffy lifted the boy and the cat up and put them gently in the cup, while the blue flames swirled and shaped in to the full appearance of Phe.  
  
"All right, let the healing and hiding of these two begin," she trilled, the healing blue flames jetting from the phoenix's wings and twisting and swirling inside the cup, completely covering the boy and the cat resting inside.  
  
"Now Crater, take those two into the; they are protected from its influence, but you have to keep your lid closed," Phe commanded Crater as he shut the lid.  
  
"Wait a minute," Samuel said alarmed with the impending separation from the two beings he was around the most.  
  
"You'll stay with Buffy. You don't have the insignia of this guild anywhere on you?" Phe said without looking at the frantic bespectacled blue cat.  
  
"No."  
  
"Then you'll be fine, just stay with my hatching." And with that both Phe and Crater disappeared.  
  
"Hatchling?" Samuel asked. Buffy shrugged and answered without thinking her answer over as she was looking for Crystal Communication Lacrima.  
  
"She's been calling me that since I got to this world."  
  
"This world, what do you mean by that?"  
  
"Well," Buffy drawled out, trying to downplay and discourage the cat to ask more questions. "It is long story."  
  
"…" Samuel rewarded Buffy with one hell of a suspicious stare, making her wince; boy this cat was a pain. But then again, Lacrima that was killing the little boy and Samuel's sister and was inserted by someone that they sort of trusted by the sound of it.  
  
"You don't trust me still, do you?" Direct approach appeared to be the only solution and truth. Not that she is looking forward at explaining to Samuel everything. She only hoped that he'd believe her and most importantly keep any information to himself.  
  
"No," and that answer from Samuel was expected, so Buffy just shrugged and nodded.  
  
"Can't blame you there. But if I tell you anything and I mean anything about the reason why I am here," she stressed the word, and by the look of those far too intelligent eyes the cat caught the importance of it. "You can't repeat what I'll tell you to anyone."  
  
"I'm not officially affiliated with any guild - yet. I do intend to join Fairy Tail eventually, per request by Ankhseram. He was also the one who pulled me from my world into this one."  
  
"The God of life and death?" Samuel asked adjusting his glasses and watching her intently.  
  
"He is also god of other contradictions, such as order and chaos." Then she tilted her head. "Huh, you didn't say anything like 'You lie to me' yet, what gives?"  
  
"I can tell that you didn't lie now."  
  
Buffy whistled an appreciative tune; Samuel was like kitty lie detector. "Nifty ability that."  
  
Smiling smugly, Samuel adjusted his glasses again. "Quite."  
  
"You are just regular Einstein kitty, aren't you?" Buffy teased him a bit, and by the look of the cat's upturned corners of his lips – he was smiling.  
  
"Hmph. Who is that?"  
  
"Genius and an inventor of the world's most famous equation, and he was from my world. And you do not appear shocked that such a thing exists." She paused. "What gives?"  
  
"I speculated that my sister and I came from another world."  
  
"How?" Buffy asked Samuel, and then she aimed the same question to Phe; she knew that the phoenix was listening in on this conversation.  
  
'Phe do you know anything about this?'  
  
'Something yes, I do know something. It's an alternative reality called Edolas. I don't know much about it, just that everything there is opposite of here. Like people's personalities.'  
  
'Weird.'  
  
'Yes it is,' Phe answered, and then there was a soft rustling of feathers, like fowl settling in their nest for the night. 'I'm glad that you decided to trust this Exceed.'  
  
'A, what is what now?'  
  
'The only magical species from Edolas.'  
  
"Samuel, I just talked with Phe; she says that you are Exceed, the race of magical cat like beings from the alternate reality type of world – Edolas." At the puzzled look from Samuel, Buffy elaborated.  
  
"Phe is different, when she dispels, she I suppose, lives inside me, my mind or soul; the details are a bit fuzzy."  
  
"I see, does Phe, was it? Does she know why my sister and I were left alone?"  
  
"She said something about: evacuation of children and magic is dying out in Edolas."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Is this how you ran into Jack?" Buffy asked, since she shared some stuff about herself, it was only fair that Samuel did the same.  
  
"All right, Buffy Summers," and wow that was first time Samuel used her name, progress. "Samantha and I hatched from the same egg." And Buffy's incredulous look, Samuel nodded. "Yes we did actually hatch from a green striped egg. At the farm where Jack's parents Mr. and Mrs. Rossi lived with him. We had a wonderful childhood; I intended to eventually join Zentopia Church, since Mr. Rossi was a member of the Legion at one point of his life."  
  
He sat down since he was standing poised to move out of the way if Buffy proved hostile, he might be weak, but he wasn't without tricks. But now he was sure that at least in this moment she truly didn't mean them any harm.  
  
"Then one night The Black Winged Angel guild attacked the farm and kidnapped the three of us, killing Mr. and Mrs. Rossi in the process. They wanted to create a Dragon slayer," when he said those two words he saw Buffy tense and then relax, filing this reaction for later examination; yes he did trust Buffy – a little, but not completely. He'll decide the correct course of action when Samantha and Jack return and then they'll decide what to do together, but now he should tell Buffy their story to the end.  
  
"So they inserted Snow - Dragon Lacrima into Jack, and then for some reason, they decided to insert the same into Samantha only it was lightning."  
  
"Lacrimas were killing them both, Samuel," Buffy said quietly. "And while their lives were saved, I have no idea if there will be any lingering side effects of their certain deaths at that point."  
  
Samuel nodded. "So what will you do, Sam?" Buffy asked the dejected looking cat.  
  
"It depends, so what's the reason why the God of life and death put you here?"  
  
"Ankhseram gave me a bit of the back story about why I have to do these four things for him. Did you hear of the guy called Zeref?"  
  
At Samuel's nod, she asked again, "What do you know about him?"  
  
Samuel took the lecturing pose, making Buffy smile for a bit at the sight. "Black mage Zeref, the strongest and most evil black mage in the history; some dark guilds worship him and he created demons that wreak havoc even now."  
  
"That is correct information as much as people are aware off," Buffy said, and then she started to repeat what Ankhseram told her to Samuel.  
  
"See Samuel as far as history is concerned Zeref is nothing more than a murdering, power seeking black mage. But while some of those things are correct, they are not the whole truth. Zeref is not evil or a malicious person in fact he is one of the kinder souls in Earthland. But for the curse placed on him he has this reputation."  
  
"Curse, what does this curse entail? Is this curse the reason you are here?"  
  
"Ankhseram curse – or Curse of Contradiction, placed by Ankhseram himself. Now the reason for the curse's placement is not the reason that Zeref was told by teachers at Mildian Magic Academy. They said that he will be cursed by the gods for researching the taboo subject of human life, creating the ideas of the R-System and Eclipse."  
  
"Due to this fear, after many repeated warnings, the board of directors of the academy finalized his expulsion due to not complying with their rules, this caused Zeref anger after hearing that one of the superiors cast doubt upon him ever bringing back to life his younger brother."  
  
Samuel titled his head, "But the subject of life is not a taboo, I mean …" he trailed off. Buffy nodded then started to talk again, telling Samuel what she heard from said god.  
  
"Yes it isn't now, but 400 or more years ago it was, then it was also believed that the continent of what is now known as Western Continent of Alakitasia was the only land in existence, while across the ocean, people of the continent Ishgar believed the same."  
  
"I see… then what happened? I take it that Zeref researching on how to resurrect his little brother didn't cause Ankhseram to place such a curse on him."  
  
"No the reason why Zeref was cursed was to give him time, as the curse grants immortality; he needed to find a way to succeed in resurrecting his brother. You see his brother was not supposed to die in the dragon attack in the first place, that was only meant to happen to their grandparents. Their father was supposed to come home, but that didn't happen because his wife Natsumi died from being wounded by the dragon named Zirconis." Then she thought a moment, thinking on how convoluted this was, like a soap opera.  
  
"Zeref's mother and father fought in the Dragon Wars as Dragon Slayers. The loss of his wife and his two boys, for that particular Dragon slayer thought that both of his boys perished in the conflict between dragons, humans, and the dragons that sided with humans caused him to snap into insanity and develop the all consuming hatred of humanity and dragons alike."  
  
"He developed an obsession and started annihilating any dragons and dragon slayers he came across. Turning into a dragon and when he is finished with that, he plans to do the same with dragon slayers."  
  
Samuel actually paled, "The Black Dragon in the Book of Apocalypse."  
  
"That's the man yep."  
  
"But doesn't he know that ..?"  
  
"About Zeref … no he is unaware, as I said he is firmly, I can say obsessed with the 'fact' that his family is dead. So telling him that his two sons are alive, and even in this day in age, would be useless, since he won't listen to anything anybody says. Irony however is that Zeref is unaware of his parentage as well; he believes that his grandparents are his actual parents."  
  
"That's a mess. So where do you come in?"  
  
"Mess is not over yet, little grasshopper."  
  
"What do grasshoppers have to do with this?"  
  
"It is pop culture reference, Samuel."  
  
"Really, interesting, is it possible for me to visit your world?"  
  
"Yes, I can return; in fact I will be able to return in about a month or two. You three could come with, I suppose, since the time difference is very fluid."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Let just say that it's flexible; for example when I first came here, one week here was an hour there, now it's 3 years here 3 days there."  
  
"Oh, so how do you know when it's time?"  
  
"Mostly I just know when it's time to go back. Or Phe informs me; or if it's urgent Ankhseram can shift me; he can also manipulate time difference between words, so..." she trailed off.  
  
"But you were interested in this mess, right?" Then she held up the Communication Lacrima, "Do you mind? I need to call the Rune Knights, it will be some time until they arrive and I'm almost done with telling you stuff at the moment."  
  
"I suppose it will take time for me to learn everything." Samuel nodded.  
  
"Oh it depends in me telling you anything else after I tell you the mission details."  
  
"On what?"  
  
"On you and Jack and Samantha. What will you decide to do?"  
  
"I see. Well if it be up to me … I'd like to join you. Or you could join Zentopia with us."  
  
"You don't know the mission's details yet, but it does entail joining a mage guild in Magnolia, Fairy Tail and it will get more dangerous when I do that."  
  
"So would joining the Zentopia Legion. But I won't make any decisions until I'm be able to talk with my sister and Jack."  
  
"Fair enough," Buffy said, then after a thought, "I would like the company, and if you decide to join this Zentopia thingy, I'll escort you three there."  
  
Just as she was linking to the orb, a face of the dark haired man appeared in the lacrima. "Hey Lahar," Buffy waved at the man, whose purple eyes widened comically.  
  
"Miss Summers what happened to you?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You look …"  
  
"Ehh, sorry this is one of my requip dresses," she said sheepish, this guy, she forgot how err flustered he got and was that a blush. Heh so it was; maybe she should wear her Libra Star dress next time she'd call him, to see how red in the face he is capable of getting. It wasn't good for the law man to get so flustered and distracted by the half naked girl. Not that she was naked, but this Egyptian dress, while covering her from neck down to her feet, didn't leave much to the imagination either.  
  
"Anyway," he coughed, "Why are you calling."  
  
"Ahh, I ran in some trouble with a dark guild." At his panicked look, she hurried up to explain. "I'm fine, and I have the members of the guild locked up in the next room, but I don't know if there are more members of the Black Winged Angel out on jobs or not…"  
  
Lahar sighed, then turned around yelling for the detachment of Rune Knights and someone named Doranbolt. "Where are you, Miss Summers?"  
  
Giving her law abiding, stuffy friend the directions to her location, Lahar while he listened intently at her rapport, was quiet, until he asked the question she was expecting. "I see, and you took them on by yourself?"  
  
Did he have to sound so disproving; she was not a helpless damsel in distress, first meeting with Lahar or not, darn the first impressions. Did she really look like a helpless damsel in distress, like a little princess in need of rescue that much at that one time? Sure she was wearing a frilly ball gown that made her look like a classical Disney princess and was harassed by members of two official guilds on that gala ball in Crocus that the King of Fiore had thrown. How the librarians did join in on that she had no idea.  
  
"No, I had help from Samuel; Sam come here please." Samuel walked forward and introduced himself to the Captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit.  
  
"This is Samuel; I meet him on the road, and he was separated from his companions, and when your Detention Unit makes an appearance and the arrest we'll look for them."  
  
"Don't forget to pick up your reward money," Lahar said fondly, and she really hoped he wouldn't bring up her possibly joining the Rune Knight's corps, again. She didn't use rune magic, at least that was her excuse the last time he asked her if she'd come to work for the Magic Council.  
  
"Eh, oh no I won't… where should I pick up the jewels?" she asked quickly, granted she still had some jewels stashed with Dog, not to mention the goods that Fox and Lynx managed to acquire from going through the pockets of Dark Winged Angel members.  
  
"You are on the way to Freesia Town?" At Buffy's nod, he said, "You can pick up your award money there. We'll also take the members of Dark Winged Angel in dentition there."  
  
"All right we'll be expecting you."  
  
"We'll be there via teleportation magic."  
  
"Right, see you soon then."  
  
"Don't get in any unnecessary trouble in the meantime."  
  
"What? What can possibly happen; you'll be here in ten minutes tops and I have the guild members bound?" Buffy argued, he really needed to let go of it. And did she just jinx herself? Why yes she did make a jinx; that is just great, she thought while Lahar disappeared, sighing she grabbed the certain silver key.  
  
"Open the gate of the wolf: Lupus!" As soon as the spirit appeared, she took out another silver key. "Open, the gate of all seeing Telescopii: Telescope!"  
  
"Can the two of you stand guard and possibly intercept or give warning if any of the dark mages return home?"  
  
"Yes. We will."  
  
"Right, thank you guys." She watched while the Wolf and Telescope spirits went outside to stand guard. "So Samuel, cliff notes since the Knights will be here sooner that I originally thought. Ankhseram give me a mission that is three fold. Make sure those Dragneel brothers survive to and beyond the approaching Apocalypse, which will come from the third continent. Break the curse that binds together two people, preferably by making sure that neither dies. And build the eclipse twin gate in my world so that some of the Earthland culture will survive the Apocalypse."  
  
"Now I have some ideas on how to go about that, first I need to join the Fairy Tail guild, per Ankhseram's information, that is where the younger brother is. That and he is a fire Dragon Slayer, dragon taught and raised, and brought here in our time through the Eclipse gate, so perhaps taking Jack there would be good as well, at least they'll bond over being Dragon Slayers."  
  
"It has merit," Samuel nodded, "I assume that you'll need to stay close to the child." At Buffy's nod, Samuel continued. "Then I propose this, we…"  
  
But Samuel will have to wait with his idea because right at this moment a member of Oración Seis came to inspect the Dark Winged Angel guild. And seeing the two conversing, she went in to attack with sand.  
  
"Open, the gate of the shield: Scutum!" Buffy shouted grabbing Samuel and ducking behind the shield.  
  
"Ara," came the female voice; Buffy and Samuel looked behind the shield where a girl about Buffy's age was standing. "What is this lil kitty cat-chan and Celestial mage?" Besides her stood a relatively tall man with a lean build and short hair that was red on one side and white on the other.  
  
"So Mage–chan, do you have any more of the spirits I can take for my own?"  
  
"We are," said the man folding his middle and ring fingers back while keeping his index and little fingers extended.  
  
Samuel adjusted his glasses. "I assume that the large gun that is shaped like a scorpion tail, with the word Antares tattooed on, is responsible for that sand attack earlier."  
  
"I agree so …" Buffy whispered in Samuel's' ear.  
  
"That seems underhanded," Samuel remarked.  
  
Buffy raised an eyebrow at her cat friend, "Do you expect a fair play from our opponent?"  
  
"No, and I was just making an observation."  
  
"Scorpio, blast them," the white haired girl commanded.  
  
"We are! Sand buster!"


	5. Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel Vs Buffy

"How about you give up your keys, Mage-chan, for I am Angel of Oración Seis," the now introduced Angel commented casually after the sand storm from Scorpio's attack died down.

"Okay," Buffy drawled, still crouching behind Scutum her shield spirit, but she was alone there, now it's the time to put that plan in to motion "I assume that Oración Seis is some sort of a magic guild?"

Angel lost that smug look to a look of complete shock on her pretty face. "And are you sure you are not a swan?" Buffy asked, standing up and watching the white haired girl for any movement; she knew she needed to keep her opponent focused on her and not on Samuel, who was circling around. Judging by the pissed off look Angel had on her face, she completely disregarded her kitty cat friend, her funeral.

Then Angel laughed, "Talk all you want, but you are merely a _barely_ trained celestial wizard." Angel's smile widened and her violet gaze drifted to Buffy's hip, where her keys hanged in her key bag.

"You should not count your chickens before they hatch, and that greedy look just now, it so does not look good on you," Buffy retorted, pulling Libra's key out, along with one of her jade keys, just in case she'll need it in a pinch. And she didn't know if Angel was aware, but both Telescope and Wolf were still active. Anger flashed in Angel's eyes and a cruel smirk took over her expression. Buffy didn't particularly like that look, so she decided to rattle the girl a bit.

"Careful young lady, or you face will stay that way."

Then Buffy's eyes narrowed; wait a moment, there was star dust around Angel that should not be there, maybe … _copy_ magic?

Only one way to find out, isn't there?

"Open the gate of The Heavenly Scales: Libra." She'll have to finish this before Lahar and his Detention Unit Rune Knights show up. So she'll do what she does best, trick an opponent into making a 'fatal' mistake. And if her suspicion is correct, time to try to reach Wolf.

_'Wolf can you still hear me?'_

_'Yes, we are looking for the real celestial mage, that one you are confronting right now is a Zodiac spirit.'_

_'Any other mages nearby? Besides real Angel that is.'_

_'No she is alone, however she is a tricky opponent; we can't locate her at the moment.'_

_'So the plan doesn't change much, I just have to lure the real mage out in the open?'_

"Libra, change the gravity on …" Buffy had to switch opponents since this new info popped up, so instead of attacking fake Angel,

"Scorpio!" And she hoped that Samuel(1) will figure out about the slight change of plans. "Roger," Libra intoned, the scales in her hands clinking when gravity around Libra's fellow Zodiac spirit shifted, and he slammed to the ground with such force that the ground cracked. Buffy however rushed forward and in one jump kicked Angel in the chest, sending her flying away; there was a puff of smoke and two blue beings appeared, then another puff and Buffy was staring at a copy of herself.

"Buffy Anne Summers," her copy said, "eighteen years old, born on a world called Earth. Passed through the dimensional gate," it stated in an analytical tone of voice. "Wants to join the guild: Fairy Tail. Has been a self taught celestial mage, has collected one golden zodiac key, Libra, and several silver along with obscure twelve jade keys."

"Well done Gemini," came a voice, and Angel, the real one, stepped out from the bushes. "Thank you," then she turned to Buffy who was now standing, watching and waiting in anticipation for the fight that will soon take place, her right hand over her heart, waiting to call the phoenix power to her.

"Crushing you should be fun." Angel laughed, "and then I'll take your keys."

_'Yeah fun for me. Phe?'_

_'You have this hatchling. Samuel has your back and Wolf is in position.'_

_'I'm worried about Gemini copying Fenix Battle mode.'_

_'Nah, Angel hasn't got the magical power for Gemini to copy it.'_

_'So that is Gemini's limit, power level?'_

_'Yes. Now kick her butt, hatchling.'_

_'Ohh I will.'_ Out loud she said, "Libra."

"Roger," said her celestial spirit and started to shift gravity.

"That won't work," Angel purred. "Gemini!"

Gemini, who was copying Buffy, raised the golden key. A familiar golden key. Libra's key, but Buffy anticipated this. In fact it was part of the plan; she just hoped that Samuel and Wolf would be here in time. As she was thinking that, Libra began visibly fighting the control that was re-directing her gravity attack.

"Fenix battle mode," she intoned, and bright golden fire engulfed her frame, transforming her dress in a red and orange feather like cocktail dress.

"Close the gate of heavenly scales."

"Gemini," Angel commanded.

"Open the gate of heavenly scales: Libra! Ack!"

Not that Gemini had any time to command Libra when she appeared at Gemini call since Buffy aimed a kick at her copy face – she was a bit weirded out, kicking the mirror image of herself on the face, but well, there was not much of a choice. At least Gemini was out of the fight, but it was time to get a bit close and personal with Angel. Huh, a stray thought: she hadn't thought about the Sunnydale Angel in two years; Buffy reached into her hip bag, but not for the key, but a weapon that Lynx brought to her from the constellation of Eridanus in the Celestial Spirit World.

At first glance said weapon wasn't very impressive with a sharp metal tip and a red and gold ribbon wrapped around a simple cylindrical handle. But that sharp metal tip was attached to an extendable glowing rope that was unbreakable like double corded steel cable. Her Corde des étoiles.(2)

"Damn you: Open the gate of The Chisel: Cealum – sword."

Okay Cealum was an interesting spirit, and now Angel was using it to come at her; _**bad** _ idea, Buffy thought when she ducked under Angel's wild swing. "Aww Angel-chan, getting frustrated there; perhaps you need to take a break;" Buffy cooed at the pissed of member of Oración Seis.

Angel charged her with sword-Cealum yet again. "Gemini! Force gate closed!" Angel screeched, giving another useless swing that didn't connect with her target. "Useless spirit, how dare you Gemini!"

Any time now, this fight would be over and Angel neatly tied down with the dark guild and waiting for Lahar to pick up. Just a little bit of button pushing. Hey if you find a nerve you only have to jump on it – repeatedly.

"Not so easy fight, huh Angel-chan, here let me cool you for a bit." She swung her hand and the dart detached from the handle, spreading forward a trail of glowing silver and yellow cords wrapping around Angel, immobilizing her hands and feet.

"Damn you," Angel hissed, glaring murder at Buffy, who gave a strong tug on the cord, sending her opponent crashing to the ground, tightly bound in Corde des étoiles from her neck to her ankles. "Cealum – gun." Angel really shouldn't shout out an attack like that; it made this irritably easier, Buffy thought when she rolled out of the way of the green laser stuff that Angel shoot at her with Cealum. But she didn't let go of her rope dart from the start, oh no.

Not since she had Angel tucked up tight. "I'll take that." Samuel was holding Angel's keys. Finally it was over.

"Why you, release me. I demand it!"

"Nope, so not happening," Buffy said casually. "Wolf!" she shouted a second later; Wolf and Telescope teleported beside Buffy.

"Yes alpha," Wolf asked.

"Can you take the bound Angel and wait for Lahar with the other members of Black Winged Angel, please. And just in case, send Telescope back to the vantage point, so that we won't get any surprises."

"Yes," replied Wolf, sending Telescope back to the look out point and then he grabbed Angel, casting a bind snake celestial spirit equivalent spell, so that Buffy could retract her Corde des étoiles. When Wolf disappeared with Angel, Buffy watched in deep thought, a sad smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

_'Buffy, what is wrong?'_ came the concerned voice from her phoenix companion.

_'Just thinking how in the last two years I haven't even thought about Angel or Giles or Willow or Xander or Cordelia.' _

_'You only knew them for couple of months.'_

_'Yes but I dunno; shouldn't I at least miss Angel more? I mean I was … am.'_

_She heaved a sigh and sat down besides Samuel who gave her Angel's keys, which she tucked away in her key bag._

_'I thought I loved him.'_

_'Hatchling, you did love him. But you did not know him; he was your support in a way no one else was before he came into the picture. He was part of the word a slayer walks in.'_

Buffy could feel warm phantom wings wrap around her in a comforting hug, like a mother swan around her cygnet(3).

_'Sometimes love doesn't survive long separation; you've outgrown the love the sixteen year old you felt for Angel. If you'd had stayed then perhaps that love would grow deeper roots, but now …'_

Phe trailed off; she won't tell Buffy what would have happened, what Ankhseram told her about what would have happened to Buffy if she hadn't found the Vermilion Key.

_'Sometimes the song Distance Only Makes the Heart Grow Fonder is incorrect, right?'_

_'In your case my golden hatchling it is.'_

_'I'm glad we didn't start dating yet, Angel and I. otherwise this would be awkward.'_

_'There is a silver lining.'_

_'Hear that?'_

_'If you hear what I hear hatchling. But yes, it appears that the Captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit arrived with his detachment of Rune Knights.'_

"Miss Summers, good evening. I'm Captain of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit – Lahar. We came for the prisoners."

"Good day Captain, the Black Winged Angel members are in there," Buffy said pointing at the building. Fortunately for Lahar, she was dressed in black Capri jeans and a v-neck blouse now, since she cancelled Fenix battle mode a while ago.

"Right men, go make an arrest!" Lahar commanded and Rune Knights sprang into action. Soon he had all of the captured Black Winged Angels, and Angel herself cuffed in magic blocking handcuffs and in the prison carriage, on voyage to temporary confinement in Freesia. From there they'll be shipped to various prisons across Fiore, while Angel will be taken to Era where she'll be trialed by the Mage Council.

 

***** 6 months later*****

 

They'd been in Freesia Town the entire duration of that time, mostly because Samantha and Jack Rossi needed medical attention. Which Buffy provided to them. They mostly stayed in a small 50 Jewel room with a bathroom. The town was similar to Rome, with its structure and when they lived and healed there; the oldest church was accidentally destroyed in an explosion by Salamander of Fairy Tail.

Buffy wasn't present at that; what is more is that she knew it's not yet time, soon, like two months and it will be X784, and then her and her companions will make a trip to Hargeon, according to Samuel and Rat, her Intel gathering Jade spirit. The Shǔ Jade dress however, she didn't like to use that, since well it was a weird feeling, being dressed in an all grey linen wrap. So most of the time she used the Rat spirit himself. The time off allowed Buffy to form the contract to two Zodiac Spirits, Gemini and Scorpio. And the one silver key, Caelum, that Samuel took from Angel at that time. When Samantha recovered, they discovered that being embedded with Dragon Lacrima made the little female Exceed into a Lightning Dragon Slayer. Her near death experience caused permanent static around her, making her look fluffier since the light violet fur stood on its end.

She also made a habit to clinging to lightning poles during storms, where she ate lightning bolts. She was like a kitty version of Pikachu from Pokémon. The boy Jack became somewhat like a little brother Buffy didn't have. They discovered that he possessed snow magic, meaning he could generate snow or eat it to replenish his magical power. On the bad side, Buffy received warning from Lahar two months ago that Angel, the Celestial Mage from Oración Seis, managed to escape. He didn't know how the member of her guild found out, but one of them broke her out.

* * *

 

 

 (1)Samuel – is Anime character in Fairy Tail Clock Arc. In cannon he ended up with Zentopia. Jack Rossi and Samantha are OC characters.

(2) Corde des étoiles – French, Rope of the stars, basely it is rope dart (or rope javelin or Jōhyō)

(3) Cygnet – baby swan

* * *

 

Per request:

Buffy Anne Summers stat:

She is at the moment of confronting Angel 17 years old, 6 months later 18 year old.

At Tenrou Arc of FT she'll be 19 year old.

**Weapon** : sai, stiletto knifes, Corde des étoiles - French, Rope of the stars, basely it is rope dart or rope javelin or Jōhyō (she'll eventually get a katana)

**Catnips** : Cleanse effect (usually used to clean her clothes) , Missile deflect, Sorrow knock, Confound, Fog Veil, Etherealm, Dream Knock, Fire trap (build a camp fire) , Winter circle (fridge)

**Silver** **keys** : Lyncis: Lynx; Sagittae: Arrow; Vulpeculae: Fox; Telescopii: Telescope; The shield: Scutum! The Wise: Noctua; The cup: Crater; The wolf: Lupus; The Water Serpent: Hydrae; The Sail: Velorum; The Chisel: Cealum

**Gold** **Keys** : The Heavenly Scales – Libra; The twins: Gemini, and Scorpio (She'll get one more golden key)

**Jade** **keys** : 12 Chinese zodiac animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig carved as the key's bow. The keys she can use are: rat, ox, rabbit, dragon, snake, monkey and dog.

_The rest go to Lucy._ Unlike gold and silver celestial keys, jade key are not constellations – but if they are opened in Zodiac (all 12 at once) fashion they can call/open the celestial gates to Jade constellation. Vermilion bird of the South, Azure Dragon of the East, The Black Tortoise of the North and White Tiger of the West.


	6. Fake Salamander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy makes to Hargeon - and sees and befriends some interesting people

**Kingdom of Fiore, X784, Hargeon town port**

 

"Buffy-nee, are we there yet?" Jack was excited as this was not his first trip, ever since Samuel, Samantha, and he joined with Buffy. But they heard that a famous Fairy Tail mage, with a nickname of Salamander, was in Hargeon. So Samuel suggested that they should go to meet that guy, after all they will have an easier time joining the guild if they'll be introduced by already established Fairy Tail member.

"Yes, I feel that the train is stopping, so we are at our stop," Buffy said, studying the rail-road map she bought the very first time she took the train. "Yey Hargeon port, here we come!" Samantha jumped up and down, jolting her book reading twin.

"Samantha, please calm down, you'll give us all an electric shock." Samuel said while he adjusted himself back with his book and then adjusted his gale-force reading glasses, which slipped off his nose.

"Don't be stuffy Sammy-nichan."

"And we stopped; let's get off of the train," Buffy said, ignoring the twins bickering. She had a policy not to interfere in the twins spats, unless it was a life or death situation. Jack jumped to his feet, and stretched, before grabbing his backpack and swinging it over his shoulder.

"We are staying in an inn, right Buffy-nee?"

"Yes Jack, Seashell Inn, that's what it's called. Now we better go, or we'll be stuck on this train till the next stop." Samuel sniffled and grabbed his sister who was watching out of the window.

"Stop pulling me Samuel, I thought I saw a flying blue cat!" she yelled when she was dragged out.

"Really, Sam?" Jack asked, "What was it doing?"

"Chasing after another train that just pulled out. And there was a human boy hanging out of the window of departing train."

"Don't care, come on, Buffy is already off the train," Samuel said, "or we'll be stuck on this train like that guy Samantha said the blue cat was chasing."

"Pish," Samantha scoffed. "We can just fly out of the window and carry Jack and his backpack with us."

"That is not the point," Samuel stressed out, "Besides; I am carrying my own backpack and so are you Samantha."

"And all of you are out of the train, so it's a moot point," Buffy said, watching her travelling companions bicker and walk, and by the surprised looks, they didn't even know that they exited the train. She clapped her hands to snap them out of it, "Now let's go put our stuff in our reserved room at Seashell Inn. Then we'll go exploring the town and hopefully find that Salamander guy in the process, and then we'll meet up at Fork and Trident restaurant."

 

*****Half an hour later on the streets of the port town*****

 

Buffy was walking while Samuel was flying above her as they elected to visit a local magic store to renew their supplies. While Samantha and Jack went around the town exploring the sights, it was no trouble finding said store since it was one and only store that sold magic items. Finding the shop, they entered only to see that the shop assistant already had a customer. She was a busty blonde haired and brown eyed girl about Buffy's age that haggled over a price of silver key. A celestial mage, Buffy thought. Samuel shoots a look at Buffy while she looked at him; they nodded at each other and retreated. Exiting the shop, Samuel took to the roof to watch from a wider perspective, while Buffy pulled out a golden gate key.

"Open the gate of the twins: Gemini," Buffy said quietly, "Gemini, turn into me and go in the shop, then get some info on the blond girl inside."

"We'll do piri, piri," the celestial twins said. And Gemini-Buffy walked inside. Samuel and Buffy waited a moment, then Gemini exited and transformed into the blond girl from inside.

"Lucy Heartfilia. Daughter of Laya and Jude Heartfilia. Celestial mage, in possession of three zodiac keys and several silver keys. She is a runaway from home, on her own for six months; she loves her spirits and treats them as friends as taught by her mother, who has been deceased since X777 and was a celestial mage herself. Jude Heartfilia is heading Heartfilia Konzern. Lucy wants to join Fairy Tail, or failing to do that, a Phantom Lord."

Just as Gemini finished reciting Lucy Heartfilia's data, the door of the store opened, and the girl in question walked out annoyed. "Stingy old man only knocked off one thousand jewels," she heard the girl, Lucy Heartfilia, the runaway heiress of Heartfilia Konzern, grumble as she exited the shop.

"Where should I go now?" Lucy wondered out loud.

Buffy sighed debating what to do; obviously this Celestial mage was not like Angel, whom escaped from jail; her contracted spirits were treated well, so Buffy felt no need to side track with helping the Celestial Spirits break the contract. Two blue beings floated behind her.

"Thank you, Gemini," Buffy said, sending small smile at celestial twins. "Piri, piri. We want to stay." "OK, no problem you can stay out…"

"Piri, piri, silly Buffy. We want to stay in contract with you," said the male twin. "We know what you are thinking and feeling piri, piri. Scorpio and Libra feel the same. And we want to tell you: 'Stop asking us to leave you, because we won't.'"

"Fine I won't even think that anymore. And Gemini, thank you. And say the same to Scorpio and Libra." And she meant it, after a year in working with the golden zodiac spirits, they've become more than co-workers, they became friends and family. The same held true to the Jade keys that she bonded with and the Silver Keys. Perhaps she should give the Jade ones she can't be bonded with to Lucy, after all Ankhseram did ask her when he gave her all 12 Jade gate keys that those that don't want to form a bond with her, she should give to the first celestial mage that Buffy could trust to treat them well. Buffy agreed with that, and as Gemini confirmed, Lucy Heartfilia was such a mage.

"We will." And with that the celestial twins disappeared back into the celestial realm. A girl yell to her friend, "Hurry up! I heard Salamander is here!"

_Bingo_! Now she only needs to find a pretext to meet the guy and then join the Fairy Tail guild and glue herself to her target to keep him alive. No problem, piece of cake. Right! Only in my dreams, Buffy thought… no way it's going to be that easy.

"Salamander? Who's that?"

"Are you kidding me? You don't know who Salamander is? He's a famous mage!" the girl squalled, making Buffy wince at the shrill sound the girl produced.

"I take it," came a male voice from above, Buffy looked up, to see her two Exceed companions that she pulled from the cages in that dark guild she busted up a while ago. Samuel and Samantha, twins hatched from the same egg. And in the months they'd been together, Samantha's life was no longer in jeopardy, even if she had Dragon Lacrima in her body. Buffy went so far as to call her Pikachu on a couple occasions, and when Samantha found out what Pikachu meant, she demanded when Buffy returned to Earth that she'd bring her and her twin brother with her; she was very curios about Pokémon now. And she did just the thing Samantha asked, took them all, Samantha, Samuel and Jack, to LA. For fun not just healing, trough they stayed mostly inside.

"That the girl passes the muster and you will give the unused Jade keys to her?"

"Yes, and best thing is that she wants to join Fairy Tail." Or a Phantom Lord according to Gemini, but that is a second choice as far as Lucy is concerned, and only if she won't get into Fairy Tail.

"Buffy nee! Sammy! Sam! "The two Exceeds and Buffy turned, seeing an orange haired boy running toward them waving.

"Jack!" Samuel hollered, "Don't call me Sammy please!" which Jack ignored, instead he started to bombard Buffy with questions, making her wonder if she was actually related to the kid.

Either that or she rubbed off on him.

"Did you find the Salamander; will he take us to Fairy Tail, and will I meet Natsu there?"

"Wohaa hold your horses, Jack. In order, I didn't talk to Salamander yet." Buffy shot a side glance at the direction Lucy went in and a bit further to a gathering crowd; yes she'd bet anything that Salamander was at the middle of that crowd. "But I will go right now; Jack you stay here with Sam," Buffy started to say, when she was interrupted by Samantha who was clad in a bright yellow blouse and a darker yellow skirt, with a large sunflower attached to a small hat atop her head. She was a cute little kitty.

" _Pikachu_ ," Samantha said. Buffy rolled her eyes; yep little violet kitty became a fan-girl, but then again she was kind of a winged cat version of a cross between electric Pokémon and lightning bolt dragon.

"Fine, Samuel you are with me; in-case those fan-girls turn violent, I'll need a quick retreat tactic. I don't want to get bitten." The last couple of words were muttered so that only Samuel heard them as the two walked away, or in Samuel's case fly, towards the cluster of fan-girls. Leaving Samantha and Jack waiting.

"Hmph, don't worry I will pull you out," Samuel said shooting a disgusted look at the crowd of squealing young women. Then he stopped and watched as a man raised himself on purple flames from the epicentre of the crowd, making the ladies around swoon. Samuel flew in to Buffy's path stopping her in her tracks.

"That is **not** Salamander," he stated.

"Oh?" Buffy muttered, and then yes, if their Intel was correct Salamander used normal fire, not purple flare that this man in a cape was using. And was that a tattoo on his head? Fairy Tail Salamander wore a white scaled scarf and had guild emblem on his right shoulder.

"Oh _man_ what a bust," Buffy grumbled crossly; she didn't want to disappoint Jack, but it seemed she will have to go directly to Magnolia to join, but first she needed to see what the deal was with this fake Salamander person. But before that she needed a place for her, Jack, and the two cats to stay the night. Plans made, she abruptly turned on her high heel leather boots and marched away right around the corner.

Right into a rushing guy that was apparently running full speed around the corner. And bowling her over and then losing his balance and toppling over her. Great just great, _fantastic_ even – see that sarcasm. Not that she could think past the silver stars that took over her vision; hey it hurt to be thrown on the ground by the running guy and then used by said guy as a cushion to break his fall.

"Ouch," she groaned, rubbing her head and willing for the spots of pain to disperse.

"That _hurts_." And he has the gall to whine about it, _**really**_?

"Then don't run around the corner and crash down on a random person," she said through clenched teeth, opening her eyes and looking at the guy, who crashed into her with the force of a freight train. Even if said guy had a long sleeved red jacket opened and had nothing underneath… she really needed to get out more, if the sight of a rude guy's abs could distract her, or go to the beach, that would cure her too.

"I want to see Igneel!" shouted the guy, jumping off her like nothing happened, and was his hair really pink? Apparently she said that last bit out loud, because the guy turned and pointed at her.

"Not pink, you weirdo, it is salmon." And here goes her temper. Say bye, bye temper. "I’m weirdo! I was not the one who ran me down to the ground."

"Did not."

Will they _really_ resort to the: did too, did not argument?

"Did too, and who's Igneel?" She was pretty sure she heard that name before.

_'He is a Fire Dragon King that adopted Natsu when he was three years old,'_ Phe supplied from inside her mind.

_'Ah but why is pinky looking for Natsu's dragon dad?'_

"Ahh, I need to see him." Pinky in question started toward the crowd again, but Buffy's next words stopped him dead in his tracks.

"The purple haired guy saying that he's Salamander, is that Igneel?" Buffy knew that wasn't the case, but she apparently needed this guy and considering that purple haired guy was fake, pink, pardon, salmon haired guy was the only lead she had.

"Huh," the guy frowned at her. "Igneel is a Fire Dragon," he said that like he was talking to a five year old.

She did want him to stay, _**right**_?

"Don't you think that if there was a massive dragon the size of the building on the streets of the small port town that you'd know?"

At the pinky, or salamon-ey haired guy's, she really needed his name, dumbfounded look, she glared at the man standing before her, picking herself up while he still stared at her with a wide eyed look.

"Really you figure that just now, considering that nobody is yelling 'Dragon is here' … seriously you how did just figure this now?" Sighing deeply to calm herself a bit, Buffy felt a bit bad for snapping; okay not really sorry, but if this guy was looking for Igneel on Natsu's behalf, he might be able to help Jack with a few pointers.

Suddenly the guy lunged forward. "Do you know where Igneel is?"

Yes probably inside of Natsu, but I cannot tell you that, Buffy thought, and yes it was a sarcastic tone of thought. "No but come on, I'll treat you to lunch and I'll ... ehh, are you a dragon slayer wizard perchance?"

It was better to check it out, feel the waters for a bit. Jack will be disappointed enough with the fake Salamander deal; she so didn't need Jack being down because the pink, sorry, salamony haired guy was not what she thought he was.

"Yes Natsu is a Fire Dragon slayer," came a voice from the side, Buffy turned and saw a blue colored cat with a white stomach and tail tip – an Exceed was walking toward them, he didn't wear any clothes except for a green backpack.

"Oh and you are an Exceed," Buffy stated.

Probably the same one Samantha was watching flying after the train.

"He is not exceed he is Happy," said white pants guy.

" _Idiot_ , she meant species; like you are Human, Happy is an Exceed," and there was a voice of her cat friend or at least one of them, and did Happy introduced him as **_Natsu_**?

Was that a common name in Fiore?

But then again how many young men were running around by the name Natsu looking for a fire dragon named Igneel. Was there a misunderstanding, she was under impression that Natsu Dragneel was fourteen years old. Two years older than Jack in fact. Was this the Natsu she was looking for?

"Ahhh! Like Happy!" yelled - Natsu she was maybe looking for.

"Are you even listening?" Samuel asked him irritably.

"Guys, OK, introduction time. I'm Buffy Summers, this is Samuel. And you are?"

"I'm Natsu of Fairy Tail, and this is Happy."

So _**he** _ is the right guy!

She wasn't looking for a guy about the same age as her. Now that was a shocker; still, if this was a good or bad thing for her task, only time will tell.

"OK, Samuel go get Jack and your sister, we'll meet up at Knife and Trident restaurant," Buffy asked Samuel who nodded, spread his wings, and flown away to guide and explain things to Samantha and Jack.

 

*****Knife and Trident restaurant*****

 

Well Natsu definitely had an appetite of a dragon. Food was practically disappearing from the plates. Luckily she had enough money to cover the bills. Even when the rest of her party showed up, she won't run out of funds. Both Jack and Samantha had ravenous appetites as well. Stray thought, did dragons that lived in this dimension hoard gold like Smaug from The Hobbit? Did first generation dragon slayers? Food for thought: perhaps she should ask her Jade key dragon friend for information.

"So you wanted to join Fairy Tail?" asked Happy interrupting her musings on her most powerful Jade Spirit, and she turned in Happy's direction. The cat sat on the table, two different kinds of fish food on his plate. He really liked fish.

"Yes," Buffy said, and then she could not take it anymore.

"Natsu," she reached over and grabbed his head musing up his cheeks so that he looked like some kind of human-chipmunk, "food won't run away from you, slow down," or she'll get nauseous. Honestly even pigs ate more neatly, not that she was all table manners 'we eat minced foods with a fork girl', but Natsu was stuffing two whole chickens into his mouth. At the same time. There must be some kinda world record somewhere on earth that he just broke.

"You liiikkkkkkkkee him," came a giggling voice from the blue cat, great a cat with a humor of a nine year old.

He and Samantha will get along like a house on fire. Samuel however, will probably have a nervous breakdown.

"Don't roll your tongue like that." And now she sounded like her mom.

She missed her terribly those two years, nearly three. Her dad too, she supposed, even if she hadn't seen him much while she made those tiny jumps back to LA Earth. Once she brought Jack, Samantha, and Samuel with her. They didn't leave her father's house. Mostly they watched TV, which was how Samantha's fan-girling over Pokémon started. Samuel read every book he come across, and Jack watched Star Wars and Star Trek. Buffy meanwhile managed to get her driver's license. The next jump back will probably be when her dad returns from his extended trip: she'll get that car and then drive to Sunnydale, eventually after her little hop back, with a car, to Earthland. She can not wait to see her mom again, it was three years since she last seen her. So she was looking forward at seeing her in person. Phone conversations didn't count. She was a bit concerned however, about seeing Giles, Angel, Willow, and Xander.

All for different reasons. She was apprehensive, but she did give it some thought and talked about how she felt with Phe. Funny how the phoenix become a confidant, a teacher, and a second mother figure in her life. She could understand Natsu's need to find his dragon parent. If Phe would suddenly disappear, Buffy would search for her as well, dropping everything and search for her, just as she would search for Joyce. She outgrown Rupert Giles. Buffy supposed that was the reason she idolized Merrick and didn't know Giles as well as him, or the fact that Merrick died to protect her. And Giles pretty much given up on her when he read that she would die at Master's hand. Only when she broke down in front of him and Angel, crying that she didn't want to die, he started to see her as not just his charge. Or so she thought. It might not be that way, but she supposed that will never be known to her. Buffy could be honest with herself about that.

As for Angel.

She had outgrown her romantic feelings for Angel her first year here. Only she hadn't realized it at the time. But her time with Angel, meeting some of his demon and human contacts, aright meeting is a strong word, she was snooping after Angel. She did like that cryptic guy, even if his secretly stalking her was annoying her to no end. So by stalking him in return, hey it's all fair in love or war, she'd meet Clem and Willy in the process. Meeting those demons, it thought Buffy that even demons come out as good people, and Willy showed her that humans can be very seedy characters. Shades of grey or multicolour for some people. Besides demons are people too, just as much as humans. They live and they die, they feel, they can reason, they sleep, they raise their young, some even hold steady jobs – they do anything that defines the appellation of a person or people. Willow and Xander: she cannot help but think of them at the same time. She is fond of them, to the memories however short she has of them and as little times they had together, it doesn't cheapen the things they did together. Or what those two, now younger teens, as Buffy herself will be hitting nineteen in January, that was, considering that they were in the middle of April and she'll probably still be in Earthland, did for her. Willow was her first true friend, ever since her cousin Celia died.

Fellow classmates and cheerleaders at Hermy didn't count, that was more in the line of frenemy's and rivals. Willow helped Buffy catch up with her school work; she gave her friendship that Buffy returned. But now what will they talk about now, gossiping about boys? All the boys in Sunnydale High in her class are her juniors. And while Buffy was of an opinion that age doesn't matter – she was in love with a 200 year old vampire for Pete's sake. The thought of dating a sixteen year old still made her uncomfortable ... Studying together-that part won't be a problem; she'll need to review all her textbooks, as she forgot most of the stuff written there. But friendship can not hold on being studying buddies alone. Xander Harris saved her life. Period. If he didn't follow Angel to the Master's former prison and gave her CPR she would have stayed dead. Before that, his humor pretty much helped getting them all through the day. So what if he had a crush and a bit of unrealistic hero worship on her. Not that Buffy realized that on her own. It was Phe that pointed that out to her. So what will she do? Buffy thought that that decision will be best made when she will actually interact with her Sunnydale crew; it made no sense to panic about it now. She'll do that when she returns to Sunnydale. Along with figuring out if she should actually tell Giles what has happened to her, what is still happening to her.

"Anyway, yes I'd like to join; I'd wanted to do that since I was sixteen," Buffy answered Happy's question. Truthfully, she did intend to join Fairy Tail since she was sixteen.

"Besides that Jack … Jack and Samantha need a Dragon Slayer to show them the ropes." At Natsu's sharp look over a chicken he was stuffing in his mouth, she elaborated, "Both are second generation Dragon slayers."

"Second generation?"

"They had a Dragon Lacrima put inside their bodies," Buffy said then she hunched forward, "I found all three of them trapped in the basement of the dark guild; the members killed their parents and care takers, then put the Dragon Lacrima inside Samantha and Jack. They were dying when I stumbled upon them and saved their lives, and we've been together ever since."

She still had an occasional nightmare, of Samantha and Jack dying, along with those she had about the Master and the cave where she drowned. "Jack really wanted to meet a dragon slayer that was taught by a dragon," she whispered.

Then she bit her lip, so that she controlled her reaction; she did not expect getting a tap on the top of her head, or the hand that rested there now. Strangely comforting but an alien feeling. She was used to Phe's feathery hugs, Samantha's soft paws curling around her hand, Jack's hugs around her waist … and this was something new.

"Don't worry, I'll teach Samatha and Jackie stuff." Personal space Natsu, never heard of the word did you, she thought, but hadn't said anything. But she was speared any kind of response to Natsu as familiar voices intruded.

"That's what happens when you don't think." Samuel was chiding Jack who was pouting, and was this bruising? What the hell was he thinking getting in a fight, unless it was justified, then she hoped that the other guy looked worse.

"Uhu I agree with Sam-nichan," Samantha said, but a strangled sound and a splat of a food made her look at Happy. Who was staring with gaga eyes at Samantha, and Buffy could have sworn that she saw goosebumps travel from the tips of his blue ears to his white tipped tail. Oh Samuel is going to hate this. But this will probably be entertaining for her and Jack. She didn't know about Natsu's reaction; she didn't know him yet, something that she'll have to work on, getting close to her charge. Her musings were interrupted by a tug on her sleeve, turning to Happy she saw that he was tugging at Natsu's as well.

"Ne, can you give a fish to her?" Happy asked his round eyes glued on Samantha. Who was still bickering with her brother, something about Jack and fan-girls? "Happy likeeesssss Samantha." Buffy smiled evilly at the flustered cat. Payback is a bitch. Hey she never claimed to be above petty pay backs.

"Arghhh don't roll your tongue. I do that!" Happy yelled/whispered. Buffy grinned at the flustered cat.

"Payback kitty cat," she sang, and then taking pity on Happy, she decided to help a little. "And Samantha doesn't like fish; she likes cake though."

"Oh who doesn't like fish, but on the other paw, more fish for me, perfect," Happy exclaimed, grabbing a plate with blueberry cake and offering it to Samantha.

Samuel glared and snatched the plate away, only for Samantha to shock both of them. Grabbing a plate when it flew from Samuel's paws she started to eat the cake slice. Jack was meanwhile laughing so hard that he fell on the restaurant floor.

"Wait the cat is Samantha?" Natsu asked, his voice in a low growl, glaring at the door, and were those flames in his eyes?

"Err yes, and yes she has a Dragon Lacrima in her," Buffy said watching Natsu, was he angry? Yes he was, she was not surprised at the anger; she was often angry at the Dark Wing Angel guild when she thought back on the state she found both Samantha and Jack in.

" **Where**. _**Are**_. _**They**_ ," he growled out, standing up, food apparently forgotten, like he wanted to rush out and murder The Black Winged Angel guild.

"Arrested. Beat to a pulp and arrested," Buffy stated. The ringleader escaped, but she won't tell Natsu that. Especially not now when he is ready to bolt and burn down the entire town, by the look of him.

"Good." Then he smiled a wide smile, and were those canines, huh interesting. Jack has them as well; Samantha too has more pronounced canines then Samuel. Must be a Dragon slayer trait or something like that, or of course it could be a coincidence.

"Good _Luffy_."

What? Oh no, he did not!

Well at least it was not the short joke, that's because he is only a head taller than me, Buffy thought sarcastically.

"It is Buffy, _lizard_ boy."

"Who are you calling lizard, _Uuffy_?"

Buffy narrowed her eyes at the guy; really he pretended to be stupid, well, and she turned pretending to be ditzy blonde into an art in LA.

"Well you seem to have trouble remembering names," she shrugged casually, leaning on the back of her seat, observing the frowning dragon slayer across the table, under her lashes. "Hence having a small lizard brain – hence lizard boy."

"I'm not a lizard, I'm a dragon."

"So you don't do the tongue thing?" She could not help voicing that pun; it fit so perfectly. Natsu's eyes bugged out, and then he grinned, leaning back as well.

"You are all right, Buffy, weird but all right. So you guys want to join Fairy Tail?" then he grinned again. "I'll take ya all there."

Jack whooped in joy and started to hug Samuel, who was, even then, glaring daggers at Happy who was making goo goo eyes at the cake eating and ignoring anything around her Samantha.

"And you, Natsu Dragneel, are just plain strange, a nice guy, but strange," muttered Buffy, Natsu only flashed her blinding grin and started eating again. _Poophead_. It was the start of the adventure …. And it started something else too a change in the course of the destined meeting between two celestial mages.

 

*****Natsu's pov*****

 

Natsu was eating the free food with Happy. All and all, his search for his father didn't turn out so bad. He didn't find Igneel this time, so yes he will kick Krow through the wall for sending him on the wild goose chase. On the train, he rode the infernal, evil machine twice. But now, once his hunger had abetted, he started to eat more slowly actually savouring all the different foods and watching his new future guild mates - he'll bring a fellow Dragon Slayer, two Happy like cats, and a strange blonde, and pretty an idiotic part of his brain muttered, girl to Fairy Tail.

He wondered what kind of elements Jack and the cat were using. He will ask them later. Scratch that he knew which element the she-cat used; it was same as Laxus, lightning. So only the kid. He looked a bit older than Romeo. That and he'll have to find out if the lack of their respective element affects them as much as it does him. _Side_ _memo_ , find any escapees from the guild that did this to them and beat them to a pulp and then set them on fire. And prank Buffy for that lizard comment. Just because he liked the future, still weird, member of his family, that didn't meant that she won't get any payback. And by the reactions he got from her … she just might play a prank war with him, or ninja games. That **will** be **fun**.

"Buffy-nee?" he heard the boy, Jack, whisper; and watched how the boy made sure that neither he nor Happy were paying attention to them. Hey just because Natsu was eating that didn't mean he was deaf to the world around him. No matter what a certain freeze brain thought.

"Hm?" the girl, Fluffy, hummed.

"He is not like that Salamander of Fairy Tail, is he?" Jack whispered. "I mean that blue haired dude, that was saying he was Fairy Tail's Salamander, put those girls under a love spell with ring magic." Natsu jolted to sharp attention. _What_? There is another mage of Fairy Tail here? Natsu didn't stop eating but he was paying closer attention to the conversation taking place before him.

"Was this why you got beaten?" the girl asked back. Huh kid was bested by fan girls. What are fan girls?

"I only wanted to meet the famous mage of Fairy Tail," the kid muttered, eyes downcast. Like a puppy.

"Jack, it is rude to whisper," she said, and did she just kick him under the table?

"Natsu, this is about your guild, so you can quit pretending that you are not listening," she hissed, but he could hear her clearly.

Jack blushed and looked at him with startled wide eyes.

"Dragon hearing kiddo. My ears are working well," Natsu said smiling at the kid.

Jack reluctantly smiled back, still uncomfortable. Natsu could not figure out why. But Buffy was already speaking. "And Jack, that guy was a fake, he is not a Salamander. Natsu here however is a Dragon Slayer."

Now the poor kids eyes grew the size of dinner plates. Jack relaxed. Natsu then looked at Buffy, "Is there another Fairy Tail mage here?" Buffy opened her mouth to answer him but before she could.

"Haven't you figured out yet," the prissy cat with the red and white barrette said with a tone that frankly pissed Natsu off. It reminded him too much of Gray. "That Salamander is a fake. He is not a mage of Fairy Tail at all." As those words tumbled from the cat's mouth, Natsu finally understood the saying, feeling like someone walked over your grave. Though that feeling didn't last long and was quickly losing ground to a steady boiling of anger in his veins. That bastard better pray that what the cat was saying was only a misunderstanding, or he'll be praying for something else eternally.

 

*****Later in the park*****

 

"I couldn't help but overhearing you talking about Fairy Tail." Hook, line, and sinker, thought Buffy watching a tall and slim man with dark blue spiky hair, the long fringe hanging over the left part of his rectangular face, waving around as he moved his head.

"You know," he was saying, his dark eyes boring into her hazel ones. "I could get you in considering I'm the famous Salamander of Fairy Tail."

Liar, liar pants on fire, she met the real deal just a while ago, and made plans to catch the impostor mage that was trafficking young women and dragging Fairy Tail's name through the mud. Natsu was pissed, and wanted to rush out and beat the fake Salamander to a pulp, but he was in the end persuaded to wait until they could hit the party. Hence her being bait for this purple haired slimy fishy.

* * *

 

*** Next chapter: Chapter 6: Welcome to Magnolia – say hello to stout dukes with weird tastes

Sneaky teaser: We'll have fight on the Bora's yacht. We'll see Lucy. Buffy, Samantha, Samuel and Jack will join Fairy Tail, and Buffy will go on her first job as official mage of Fairy Tail.


End file.
